When The Darkness Comes
by xoeternalflamexo
Summary: Everything will change as Sydney & Adrian are reunited once again by the very darkness that threatens to take over their lives. Now magic is tipping out of balance, a rogue sorceress is on the lose & when Sydney's former History teacher is involved, trouble always ensues. The world as they know it may never be the same. {Sydrian} {Goes AU from The Indigo Spell}
1. We're Not In Palm Springs Anymore

**A/N: New story. What if Sydney had chose to go with Marcus and his Merry Men instead of staying back with Adrian in Palm Springs at the end of The Indigo Spell? This picks up roughly a month and a half ish after Sydney leaves Palm Springs for Mexico. This story will be told from both Adrian and Sydney's POVs, chapter wise.**

**I updated 'VDVE' quite fast, but I will let you know now that this story will be a slower process. I will work as fast as I can, however and hopefully all will go as planned. Simply be patient. Expect weekly updates for now. :)**

**P.S The first 2-4 chapters are short, but they get longer.**

**Also, Please, PLEASE review. It would mean the world. Anyway... Enjoy.**

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**Title**: When The Darkness Comes

**Summary**: Everything will change as Sydney &amp; Adrian are reunited once again by the very darkness that threatens to take over their lives. Now magic is tipping out of balance, a sorceress is on the loose &amp; when Sydney's former History teacher is involved, trouble always ensues. The world as they know it may never be the same. {Sydrian} {Goes AU from The Indigo Spell}

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the Bloodlines or Vampire Academy characters no matter how much I wish I did sometimes. I have no affiliation with Richelle Mead whatsoever. This is written purely for fun.

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**Chapter One -** Sydney

_I know you're torn_

_And in between dreams_

_But it's all you've ever known_

* * *

We're Not in Palm Springs Anymore

His twinkling emerald eyes were like a lush oasis.

They were endless, alluring and so full of life. Perhaps if I looked close enough I would see my reflection in them. I could drown myself in those eyes forever, it would be the closest thing to paradise. He blinked, and I pulled myself out of his entrancement. We were sitting cross-legged, facing each other, palm in palm. His touch was soft, warm and inviting. It felt like home.

There was a curve to his lips, like he was just about to break into a mischievous grin. He looked like he was sharing a joke with himself, one that only he understood. It left the rest of the world confused; but he didn't care, he didn't think anyone would understand it anyway. I waited for him to smile; but he didn't. Something flashed in his pretty eyes; but I couldn't grasp what it was. It was gone in a millisecond.

"What's happening?" I questioned, a little puzzled now.

Something felt wrong… Everything was extremely quiet. _Too_ quiet. There was nothing here except for the two of us. Was this heaven? Is this what heaven felt like?

He shook his head, some of his messy brown hair falling over his eyes, I wanted to touch them, push them away. He didn't let me.

"It's all about to change, Sage. It's about to change for the both of us."

His voice was so distant that it scared me, and panic surged through me. Why did he sound so far away? He was sitting so close to me, we were connected. He wasn't allowed to sound so… surreal and obscure.

"Come closer to me," I spoke softly, "You're too far away."

He finally smiled, but the smile was sad and wistful.

"I wish I could, but you didn't let me."

What was he saying? I didn't understand a word. All I knew was now I was worried. Suddenly, everything started to tremble, a tumult shaking the ground beneath us.

"It's begun." Adrian's voice was only a soft whisper in the void.

"What? What's begun?" Adrian didn't look at me, his eyes were distant. "The realms of magic, both black and white, are tumbling inside and out. Change is almost here, and it's going to swallow us whole."

I frowned, my throat beginning to dry up. His image started to flicker like a candle flame in the wind, I extended an arm and tried to reach out to him. "Grab my hand!" I exclaimed, but Adrian just stared at me.

Those gorgeous green eyes suddenly lost all their charm; now they were empty, emotionless. His eyes stared off into nothingness; and I wanted to scream. He didn't move a muscle, "Adrian!" I cried out as loudly as I could but it was futile.

The dead couldn't hear me.

Blood. It was everywhere. The dark red liquid appeared out of nowhere and drenched his  
white clothes in their demonic essence. I was aware that I was screaming but I wasn't  
able to hear my own voice. I just kept calling out to him.

Suddenly, a brilliant white light flashed out of nowhere and the scene shifted.

We were in bed, wrapped in red blankets on red bed sheets. His lips, they were red too. We were kissing, his lips were warm and tasted like rose petals.

It was a blistering kiss that burned away the intolerable pressure that had been building up inside of both of us. The kiss hurt, it was hungry and unsatisfied. We devoured each other like animals. It was intense, passionate and… electrifying.

I paused to take a few long, much needed breaths. Adrian's silhouette flickered and  
for a second, his eyes were wide open, staring off into space again. He was just a  
lifeless body soaked in red, about a second later, he was Adrian again. His lips parted to trail kisses down my neck but I stood up, pushing him away and wrapping the red covers over my naked body.

"What's happening?" I repeated, "I don't understand."

Adrian spoke again, but the voice being enunciated wasn't his own. It was deep and echoed throughout the room,

"It's coming, and when it does… Everything will change."

xxxxx

I woke up kicking and screaming.

My forehead was glistening with sweat and I could feel it trickling down my right cheek.  
When I looked up, I saw a familiar face. His eyes were blue and he had really white teeth.  
His eccentric tattoo seemed to give away his identity far too easily. His blond hair were disheveled like he'd just woken up from bed. And of course, he had; because of me.

Marcus Finch stood over me, his eyes full of concern. "Sydney? What's going on?"

I took a few calming breaths before I spoke, pushing wayward blonde locks away from my  
sticky face. "Bad dream…" It couldn't have been a normal dream, could it have? I didn't remember most of my dreams, and the ones that I did remember… No, this wasn't Adrian's style.

Things felt warmer, brighter in his dreams.

This one felt dark and ominous, like a nightmare. He wouldn't do that to me, this hadn't been his doing.

"You were screaming his name again, Sydney. Third night in a row. Are you getting  
homesick or something? I thought you liked it here, with us."

I sighed again, refusing to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry, Marcus. I didn't mean to wake you up."  
I didn't want to respond to his question. If he wanted the truth I could lay it out on him, give it to him straight that yes, I missed Palm Springs and all my friends there. And yes, of course I missed Adrian the most. That, however, would lead to a pointless argument that wouldn't lead anywhere so it was better if I just kept my conflicted emotions to myself.

Plus, it was long past midnight - and Marcus got cranky and unbearable when he didn't get his beauty sleep.

He still peered at me with a skeptical look on his handsome face; waiting for further explanation.

"I do like it here. I can't control my dreams, I'm not a lucid dreamer, Marcus. You should go back to sleep, we'll talk in the morning." To my utter relief; he bought my words. He stood up, flashing me one of his million dollar smiles even in the middle of the night.

"Rest up and get your eight hours of sleep, we're going surfing tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes as Marcus walked out of my room. It was always surfing, beaches, dancing  
and margaritas with these people. Which - I guess to anyone who wasn't me was a pretty good deal. Still, I _was me_; and I wasn't amused. They had dragged me along with them to Mexico with promises of making a real change. We had the leads and everything to prove it, instead,  
they spent all their time 'laying low', which in Marcus speak meant partying and lazing it up.

It was disappointing.

I had joined them because I'd thought we could do some real good here and make a true difference, I'd left my responsibilities behind for this. And now here I was in a rundown motel in the middle of Mexico with a bunch of slackers.

_You ARE doing good. Everyone here is human, like you. _

The truth was that I got along much better with the Moroi and Dhampirs than I ever would in a million lives with Marcus or even the Alchemists for that matter. I worried every waking hour about my friends back in Palm Springs. I wondered how Jill was doing and if she had managed to get together with Eddie, I had to know if Angeline was keeping herself out of trouble, and even if Trey was doing okay. Most of all, I missed Adrian.

What would he be doing right now? Drinking his sorrows or doing just fine without me, already moving on to the next girl? The truth was, every time something important, funny or crazy happened in my life, my first instinct was to talk to Adrian about it. Which, of course, wasn't an option.

I spoke to Jill and the rest of the gang on the phone almost every week, but Adrian and I had stopped talking completely and it was all my fault. _Isn't that what you wanted, though? You wanted to leave him, that's the main reason you ran away with Marcus and his Merry Men in the first place!_

I rolled in my bed, peering at the alarm clock on my nightstand. It was only 4:00 am, but I knew I wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. So instead, I jumped out of bed, made myself some coffee from the instant coffee maker I'd managed to procure and pulled out the note that Adrian had given me before I'd left.

I stared at it, like I did every night before going to bed.

I took a sip of my coffee and traced the letters of my name written in his unique handwriting.  
I remembered the first time I'd seen it, how much I'd hoped it was some big, flowery declaration of his love for me… Instead, it was just numbers. Not Adrian's style, not really. It had taken me only a few seconds of leering at it to decipher it, though. They were coordinates. Adrian had thought I would come back to him, he'd assumed I wouldn't run off with Marcus, but I had done exactly that.

I felt so guilty sometimes I felt like I was going to throw up if I mulled on about it for too long. One night, I'd even entered the numbers into my GPS and used the magical tools of Google Earth to find out where exactly it was that Adrian had planned on taking me.

I still remember how I'd clenched my jaw when I'd found out the place that he had probably been waiting for me at. I could still hear the sound of my heart breaking as I looked on. The coordinates were to a sister museum to the Getty Center, one that specialized in ancient Greek and Roman art. On the website, I had found out that admission was free but required reservation. Adrian had reserved it for us, in a museum of all places, he'd probably gotten bored to death over there… But he'd done it anyway because he knew I'd love it.

A grand romantic gesture and what did he receive in return? Nothing.

I'd left him there, all alone, crushing his hopes, dreams and his heart with it. I despised myself everyday for doing that, almost positive that I could never show my shameful face in Palm Springs again.

Mexico had been an utter and royal mistake. Marcus and his Merry Men were all talk, and that's it. They hid in their little shells and did nothing about the grand information that they had. Marcus had assured me that he could at least get my tattoo 'fixed', but I'd refused and eventually, he had no choice but to comply. Now I was here in Mexico with a bunch of lazy  
'rebels' who did nothing but drink and party. I was wasting away my time while Jill and the others could be in real danger, not that I could've helped with the danger part even if I was in Palm Springs, but I did have some magic up my sleeves now.

That's when it struck me that I had my ex History teacher, Mrs. Terwilliger who was also a sort of a witch, complete with a coven and cats. She could probably help me understand where these crazy dreams were coming from. I just had to wait until morning.

xxxxx

"Oh, dear. You should have told me about this sooner."

Mrs. Terwilliger's voice was agitated. It was funny, I'd called her out of desperation, but I hadn't actually known that she would have all the answers. It didn't really come to me as a surprise, though, she always seemed to have all the answers. She was like this all-knowing human Wikipedia. I was envious, I thought that I was the only one wielding such knowledge.

"I don't understand," I mused, I heard her scoff on the other end of the line. "I was afraid this would happen. However, I was hoping you wouldn't be involved in this."

"Mrs. Terwilliger, can you please elaborate?"  
"Of course, dear, of course. Ah, this is not completely out of bounds however I must say that it is quite uncommon for a regular witch; especially a fledgling like yourself to receive prophetic dreams."

I froze, my heart pounding so hard inside my chest that I thought it would explode. "Prophetic? As in I'm seeing the future? Mrs. Terwilliger, is something going to happen to him? Is Adrian in danger?"

Her answer was as infuriating and vague as I'd expected it to be, "Yes and no."

"What does that mean?"

"That means that I need you to come back to Palm Springs immediately."

"But—"

"We have a situation on our hands, Miss Melrose. I wouldn't be telling you this if it weren't important. Everything could break into chaos if this…The peace between our worlds would just… I need you to come back, no questions asked. Do as your told."

The line went dead.

I spent the rest of my day pacing around, frustrated, confused and trying to figure out my next step. When I finally came to a conclusion, I was packing my bags and booking a flight to Palm Springs before I even knew it. An hour or so later, I decided to go tell Marcus and his Merry men that I was going to have to leave Mexico to run an errand. That was going to be difficult and I already knew they wouldn't take it lightly.

I trudged down the staircase at the motel and found Marcus, Wade and Amelia by the poolside. Marcus was shirtless and in Bermuda shorts, wearing expensive sun glasses and rubbing sun block on his arms. I rolled my eyes as I walked towards them, "You're sun-bathing with an ample amount of sun-block on. The whole point is to get tanned, Marcus."

He looked at me from over his sunglasses and flashed me a white-teethed smile, "It impresses the ladies, what can I say?"

"So, Sydney, are you coming surfing with us or what? There's this bonfire party by the beach afterwards, I'm pretty sure they've got marshmallows and cute boys." Amelia offered, she was in the pool, staring up at me from the edge. Despite being inside the swimming pool, Amelia's hair and face were perfectly dry.

I sighed and took a seat on one of the lounging chairs that faced them, "Thanks but I can't… And I actually have to talk to you guys."

Three inquisitive pairs of eyes peered up at me. I took a deep breath, here goes nothing…

"Something's come up in Palm Springs and it's very important. So I—I'll be leaving tomorrow morning to go back. I don't know how long it'll take me so I think you guys will have to carry on without me for now." I chose my words very carefully, but Marcus looked upset already.

He sat up straight, pulling off his sun glasses so his blue eyes could prove to me that he wasn't okay with this. "Where is this coming from, Sydney? Is it the dreams? - it's those dreams, right? Or have you been talking to—what's-his-name? Adrian? Is he filling your head with all this? I thought you made a solid decision when you chose to come with us—A _final _decision."

I groaned, thinking that this was going to be harder than I had initially imagined. "I did but as I told you, something has come up. No, I do not speak to Adrian—It's not even about him! Look, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to bail on you guys. You've been very nice to me and I appreciate it but I've got to do this."

Marcus scoffed, giving me a look of extreme disapproval. "We thought you were cool, Syd. We thought you were one of us. We let you in. You know all our secrets—"

I cut him off this time.

"And they will stay secret, you have my word. I'm not ditching you or telling on you, everything will go as planned; you'll just have to do it without me. I have a responsibility back at Palm Springs, I can't pretend like it doesn't exist."

"Yeah? Well, that's exactly what you did when you chose to come with us."

I tried not to pay heat to that comment and went on, "I'm sorry, I have to go. And a piece of advice? Maybe you should do something about Master Jameson and the information you've obtained instead of sitting on your butts all day and drinking margaritas."

I wasn't one to be harsh like that, the comment had literally come out of nowhere. I started to turn on my heel to leave, I could feel Wade and Amelia's scowls on my back—and Marcus's incredulity.

"Sydney!" He called out, but I didn't turn around, I just kept walking away.

"Wait up!"

He was following me, so I skidded to a stop and turned to face him.

"What is it, Marcus?"

"Will you come back?"

I took a deep breath, peering at Mexico's blue, blue sky and Marcus's inviting grin. Then, I began to think about Jill's warm smile, friendly conversations with Eddie, Angeline's constant blabbering and Adrian's precious green eyes and soft lips. Then I thought about everything else about Adrian—His jokes and innuendos, his expensive cologne, and the way I felt when I was in his embrace.

"I don't know, Marcus… but I will."


	2. Mexican Reunion

**A/N: I haven't gotten many responses from you all, but thanks to the ones that did follow or favorite. It means a lot. If you like my work... I hope you don't mind me requesting you to help me spread the word a little? Thankyou. Enjoy. :)**

**P.S There is PLENTY of angsty Adrian to come; don't you worry, Natasadeli ;)**

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**Chapter Two** \- Adrian

_All those words, came undone  
And how I'm not the only one_  
_Facing the ghosts that decide if  
_  
_The fire inside..._

_still burns_

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Mexican Reunion

"We're going to be trying out abstract painting today. Allow your thoughts to run wild and let them reflect onto the paper. Remember, give every stroke of paint meaning—bring it to life by merely the train of your feelings and emotions. I want you all to think about your deepest and darkest fears when you work today. Show me what your fears would look like in the form of abstract art. By the way, this is going to incorporate for at least sixty percent of your grade."

Our art teacher, Mrs. Valentine, explained.

I took a deep breath and looked at my blank canvas. I hated when they made us do work on specific topics. I liked to have all my options open, I liked variety. I didn't think that I could  
get very creative with extremely limited choices on my hands.

"You know what's my darkest fear? Mrs. Valentine in a mini-skirt. I mean, look at those thunder thighs. Ack!" Rowena Clark said, leaning towards me and grinning.

Rowena and I had met on the first day of our mixed media class and bonded almost instantly. I didn't think anyone else in the entire class was more fit to be my friend. She was my perfect match, except for the fact that she liked girls and I was still hung-up on my last disastrous love affair.

"It's disturbing that you've dwelled upon Mrs. Valentine in a mini-skirt." I deadpanned.

"Oh, pfft!" Rowena chuckled, hitting me lightly on my arm.

"Less talking more working, people. Come on." Mrs. Valentine roamed the length of our spacious classroom and clapped her hands repeatedly.

I went back to staring at the open canvas. I wanted to paint, I wanted to get my mind off the thing that was bugging me, but it was pretty close to impossible. The fact remained that I was still the lovesick fool that I'd always been and wasn't able to get Sydney Sage out of my head, even two months after she'd left me for margaritas and a bleached blond idiot.

It was puzzling; really. I'd been so damn determined that she was going to change her mind and come back to me that I'd gone through the trouble of setting up a message with coordinates to one of the best museums in Malibu for her. I still remembered it like it was yesterday. I had stood there, at the stupid indoor garden, waiting for her to come to me. It was a December afternoon; I'd been pumped on nothing but adrenaline. The garden was gorgeous, it had a built-in pool and everything. I remember waiting there for over three hours, so sure that she would come, until I got a phone call from Jailbait telling me that Sydney had boarded the train.

It broke my heart and it was like every lesson that Sydney had taught me was tossed right out the window. I began to smoke and drink more than I did back when Rose dumped me for the tall, dark and Russian warlord. God, it had been terrible. I remembered Jailbait and the rest of the gang calling up Sydney on her birthday to wish her; and I'd refused to talk.

I wasn't one for holding grudges; but it hurt. Everytime I thought I was over it, I just closed my eyes and saw her angelic face. Those majestic amber eyes littered with golden specs—mocking me, her flaxen hair flying in the wind, and her evil laughter echoing right into  
the freaking depths of my soul.  
_  
Hell with her.  
_  
"Uh oh," Rowena's voice pulled me out of my vicious thoughts,  
"You're doing that thing again."

I frowned, "What thing?"

"I don't know but it makes you look like a serial killer. Your left eye starts to twitch, your nose gets all wrinkled and you scowl for a good five minutes, staring off into space."

"Oh,"

"It's that mythical ex-girlfriend you've been going on and on about, isn't it?"

"No," Unfortunately, lying to Rowena was pointless. I'd only known her for a few weeks,  
but it felt like she knew me… well, some of me.

"Oh, please—don't bullshit me. I know a moping, brooding soul when I see one. Cupid did you wrong and now you seek justice. You want to go avenge the kingdom of the down and the duped."

I knew that she was simply being sarcastic, but I almost wished there was a way I could punch something in the face so that I could feel better.

She took a lock of her recently dyed lavender hair in her finger and twirled it around,  
"Do you want me to help you? I have a friend who has a friend who has a cousin who could totally hook you up with, like, this really slutty group of sorority girls. It'll be like an All You Can Bang Buffet. What do you say?"

I arched an eyebrow at her, a little amused. "Is that Plan B if things go kaput with Tessa?"  
"Hey," Rowena raised her arms in mock surrender, "I was only trying to help, man."

We didn't talk much after that and I carried on trying and failing to be creative. I even got a dangerous death stare from Mrs. Valentine, who usually loved my work. After class, I was walking with Rowena towards the parking lot, my hands in my pockets.

"So at what stage of your emotional turmoil are we on? Is she the one that got away or the frigid bitch that did you wrong at the moment?" She questioned, I suppressed another chuckle. "Probably both."

"Okay, both it is. Ugh, Sydney is such an inconsiderate bitch, god, I hate her so much for doubling my man pain and hurting my fragile heart. Oh, but I miss her so much… She was the one, you know? The love of my life. I'll never meet someone like her! I must go drown my sorrows in tobacco and hooch till I can feel again!"

I rolled my eyes at Rowena's mocking words and put a hand to my heart, "Ouch,"  
I grinned at her, "You're being extra sarcastic today."

"Well, since you've got your monthlies I thought I'd do it for the both of us."

I drove home in silence which was pretty abnormal for me. I usually blasted the radio,  
let down all my windows and relished in the road ahead. My moodiness probably had something to do with my spirit use. Recently, I'd limited using it, since I wasn't visiting anyone in their dreams or healing stuff I was pretty much five by five. All I used spirit for now was to read auras and that had become a guilty pleasure, one which I was not proud of.

It sucked to be a spirit user, no wonder they all either died or went insane.

If you used too much of it, things got bad and if you didn't use enough, same consequences.  
I'd been having some serious withdrawal symptoms because I'd been keeping my spirit usage very suppressed and it was coming to a point where I missed it. Usually, the alcohol I drank  
just numbed it down, but these days, it wasn't as easy to get drunk or shut out the spirit.

The darkness and the pain was always there, looming in the background; sleeping, waiting.  
I could feel it simmering inside of me at random times of the day, usually in the brighter hours I'd just down enough alcohol and smoke enough cigarettes to keep me distracted with my mind away from it all, but it got harder every time I was alone at night and turned off the lights.

I'd done some reading on spirit users before, also learnt a couple things from my friend, Lissa. There were all kinds of fairy fables about it, of course. Some people said spirit users were abominations, some said we were mentally insane, others thought we were gifted; miracles with legs. It was different with everybody. A lot of people even refused to believe we existed; thought we were myths. I'd seen the effects of Spirit use first-hand, Lissa used to cut herself because of it. And I'd brought Jill back to life using it.

Why did I have to be cursed with spirit anyway? I often thought how cool it would be to wield power over water like Jailbait, or even kick some ass with the fiery talents that Christian had.  
But no, I had to be stuck with the crappiest of Moroi talents. Just my luck.

My mind was a weak little thing, I was in the throes of spirit more often than I'd liked to admit. On a good day, I just hid it and nobody would be able to tell. On the bad days…  
The bad days were a pain in the ass, there was no telling what would happen to me.

I sighed and piled all the spirit driven thoughts to the depths of my mind, parked my car, a proud yellow mustang that did nothing but remind me of _her_; and began to walk towards my apartment. That's when my phone buzzed; it was Jailbait.

I picked up almost instantly, "Ah, a little sunshine to brighten my day. What's up, Jailbait?"  
Her voice was extremely squeaky, like she was high on caffeine. I'd come to know it as her happy voice, "Adrian, you've got to come to Amberwood. Like, now."

I frowned, making a mental list of the things I'd had planned for the day. The list was neither long nor productive, so I shrugged, "Sure. What's going on?"

"I—I don't want to ruin the surprise so I can't tell. Just get here! Quickly!"

"Jailbait—"

But she'd already cut the phone. So I did what any other logical person would do in my position, I got back into my car and drove to school because the fifteen-year-old told me to.

xxxxx

I trudged towards Jill's room and knocked twice on her door, loudly. I was a little irritated and testy, probably because I hated wandering around Amberwood's extra-confusing campus. Vampire-friendly it was not, with all those open air lawns with the sun shining down to make me feel like an Adrian-sized kebab.

Sure, Moroi didn't get burnt into crisps like the Strigoi when it came to the sun, but it tried its very best to make us feel sick and uncomfortable if we stood directly in it for too long.  
Angeline, Jailbait's mouthy roommate and guardian, opened the door. "Oh, great. You're here. Jill was talking my ear off about how excited she was. It was starting to give me a headache." She announced grumpily, leaving the door wide open and stepping aside so that I could come in.

Angeline was nice, I always liked people who complimented me at first sight; but recently she'd cheated on Castile and that wasn't boding well with anybody. Were all girls like this?  
For someone who'd been with so many one would think I would know. I walked in and looked around, "Where is she?" I asked.

Angeline crossed her arms over her chest, "Where is who?"

"Jailbait."

Angeline walked over to the table and grabbed a Biology textbook, "Oh, she should be here soon. She told me not to let you out of my sight while I wait." I frowned and sat down on the couch in their dorm room, still a little dazed and confused. Angeline wasn't doing a very good job at keeping her eye on me, as she was flipping through the pages of her textbook rather strenuously.

"Ugh, I hate biology. I mean, who cares how a cell divides? It just does."

I didn't bother responding to her, Jailbait's shady behavior was starting to test my patience and I felt the immediate need to smoke and let off some steam. I shifted uncomfortably on the couch, before I could ask Angeline about what Jill was up to again, someone walked in.

I stood up and froze in place. A dozen feelings and emotions began to run wild, and I had this sudden ache in my chest that was levitating around inside me. My mouth dried up and I had to bawl my fists and dig my nails deep into the palms of my hands to keep them from shaking. What the hell was she doing here?

Sydney stood at the doorway, her blonde hair perfectly brushed, wearing her obligatory formal skirt and shirt. She looked a little tired, there were dark rims just beneath her bleary eyes and my vampire senses told me that she had been drinking tons of coffee because she smelt like she'd bathed in it—something which didn't come to me as a surprise.

God, I hated surprises.

The look on her face seemed to be wistful and etched with longing, but I couldn't tell for sure.  
What I did notice, that unlike the Sydney who'd laughed at me in my head, this one simply looked apologetic and rather vulnerable. All the pent up anger that I'd kept bottled up within me seemed to melt away in a heartbeat.

Of course I'd thought about what would happen if I saw her again, that was a no brainer.  
I'd planned this long, dramatic, angry speech so that I could make her feel as bad as I did when she'd broken my heart for the billionth time. I knew that there were numerous things that I could say to her, I could start with one of the many taunts I'd thought up while she was away, or with a witty insinuation, but instead, I went with something like, "Hey,"

It was so lame that Captain Underpants could have flown in and smacked me in the face.

Sydney took a deep breath and walked in, trying to put on a brave face and smiled. Angeline was the first one to break the silence and spare us both the awkwardness. "So _you're_ the reason Jill's been all over the place this morning. That explains it. I'm glad to have you back, now maybe Adrian and the rest of these people will stop moping over you like little babies."

Sydney's eyes swiveled to Angeline, "Thank you, I suppose?"  
Angeline grinned wide, "You're welcome. Uh—Do you guys need a minute to yourselves?"  
Sydney began to say, "That's not necessary-" but I cut her off.  
"That would be nice, yes."

Angeline, thankfully, got the message. She grabbed her Biology textbook and walked right out the door, shutting it behind us so that we were now stuck together in a confined space, alone, with all our problems bubbling up to the surface.

It was suffocating.

Sydney kept averting her eyes, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out she was trying her best not to look into my eyes. So, naturally, I did exactly that. I stared right into those amber eyes I'd missed so much, "Why are you back?" was all I said, my tone was extremely apathetic.

"I've been having some ominous dreams, I talked to Mrs. Terwilliger and she sounded extremely frantic on the phone; she requested that I come back." I arched an eyebrow at her, I didn't need to communicate with words how I felt about that. Her response sounded flat and stupid, and I couldn't believe that she'd run off to Mexico promising she would never come back to me, but came running when Jackie had a problem.

"And I missed everyone here. I—I missed you, Adrian. I know that this sounds foolish right now but if I'm being honest, Mexico was a disaster. It was stupid, it was a whim… I acted on impulse, which is something I never thought I'd say, by the way." I simply crossed my arms over my chest, feeling unconvinced.

Sydney finally met my gaze and raised a hand in expression, "I could give you a whole, enumerate speech about how sorry I am and how wrong I was for going to Mexico with Marcus and his Merry Men but I already know that will not mean a thing to you. I wish I'd thought this through, I mean, its all I thought about on the plane—I even made some stupid charts, they were color-coded and everything. I even googled 'How to get a loved one to forgive you' online! Adrian…"

I had to put a finger on her lips to get her to stop talking, I was afraid if she went on further without taking a breath she would start hyper-ventilating. If the circumstances had been any different I would have probably gone for a kiss to shut her up; but for now, I didn't take that risk. Her eyes fell down to look at my finger on her lip, I could feel the warmth of her skin under my own and immediately peeled it off before I lost all train of thought.

"Breathe, Sage, I'm not going to kill you." I muttered. She smiled just a little, "Is it strange that I want to tell you about all the heavily ridiculous experiences I've had these past two months instead of debating on about my decision?"

I felt a smile tugging at my own lips. "I think it's a smart way to get yourself off the hook, but you look jet-lagged and tired and I don't wanna pressure you anymore. Also, I'd like to hear about that Surfer boy's dreams crashing and burning. So, let it out."

Oddly enough, she sat down after that and we talked straight for two hours. It almost felt like no time had passed at all, I was still mad at her, somewhere down there but just seeing her back with me, talking her heart out. With her eyes filled with light and her smile so very telling, I couldn't help but feel a little relieved and inspired.

"Oh, and this one time, Marcus managed to convince this group of teenage boarding school girls that he was a Russian spy working for the government, it was so funny because—"  
Her eyes suddenly went wide and she quit what she was saying abruptly,  
"Did you know that Wolfe bakes cookies in his free time? He's the strangest man… but his cookies taste really, really good. Oh, he had these hilarious ninja magnets on his refrigerator—I thought you'd like those. At least, that's all I could think about during my visit there."

Sydney told me all kinds of stories, when she started talking about Wolfe, I was actually amused. "How long have you been holding that one down?"

It was weird how it all felt so very normal, we were supposed to be mad at each other, things were supposed to be awkward and intense. Instead, we were trading stories like some long lost friends.

Finally, there was a knock on the door and Angeline was back, with the news that there was a call for Sydney, which was her cue to leave. I was a little floored when I took a look at the time, it was almost their curfew—which meant that I'd overstayed my welcome.

"It's nice to have you back Sydney. Jill and Eddie say they want to meet you." Angeline offered, strolling back in with three large books tucked under one arm.

Sydney turned to look at me, and offered a rueful smile, "Adrian… Just because you allowed me to open up to you, it doesn't mean I'm off the hook, does it?" Her expression grew hopeful.

Before I could reply, Angeline chimed in, her voice slightly annoyed; like she'd had a bad day. "Go away now." She was looking directly at Sydney, but I knew that she was addressing the both of us. Angeline was very literal that way.

Sydney nodded, but she was clearly hoping for an answer. I wasn't sure how to respond to that, but I settled for something that would provide me some satisfaction for all the torturous days gone by without her. I gave her a smug, slightly sarcastic smile.

"Not by the slightest, my love."

xxxxx

The next three days were strictly Sydney-free.

Which after our last bittersweet yet abundantly confusing encounter, I was fine with.  
I stuck by my per diem routine. I'd go to college for class, hangout with Rowena (and her girlfriend sometimes) after, then come back home. At home I usually painted, or tried to finish up the latest instructive project I'd been given by Mrs. Valentine. Later, I would spend my time drinking and listening to Pink Floyd's albums, oh, and feeding our love child the grumpy callistina dragon.

The little guy really had an appetite on him, and chocolate cookies made him testy and overly hyper. I'd feed him anyway, though, to get the screeching to stop. Hopper was cute, for a dragon—I'd always pictured dragons to be large and majestic, Game of Thrones style. This tiny dude wasn't what I'd expected, but he still made a badass pet. Unfortunetely, I couldn't tell anyone about him because Sydney made him out of magic. Literally. And she was the only one who could convert him back into an inert piece of smoky quartz.

That evening, as he licked frosting off the donut I'd just fed him, I thought it was time Sydney took him. I'd had him long enough, two months in her unrequited absence, to be precise. I watched him gobble up what was left of the donut from the glass aquarium he called home.  
"Hopper, you're one greedy little dragon. You know that?" I spoke to him, he made a sound that was close to a cat's mewling before falling asleep.

I sighed as I backed away from the vivarium and jumped onto bed. Suddenly, my phone rang and I smiled slightly at the name that flashed.

"Well, if it isn't Her Majesty. Planning to take a day to kick back and blend in with us mere peasants? You know you can't have the best of both worlds, Liss."

Lissa Dragomir, one of my friends from back at my days at Court was on the other line. We didn't talk much anymore, not since she went ahead and became queen of the Moroi Royal Court and everything. She was also a fellow Spirit user, we'd taught each other quite a few tricks. Lissa laughed softly on the other end of the line, but her voice sounded tense as she spoke, "Adrian, I've missed you."

The compassion in her voice sometimes made me feel all warm inside, not that I'd ever tell her that. I grinned, "Gosh, Liss. How's the kingdom treating you?"

"Surprisingly well… For now. How's Jill and everyone else doing?"

"Everyone's peachy."

"Good… I'm glad."

"How's Christian? You two crazy kids getting along fine?"

"He's wonderful."

There was a strain to her voice, and I knew her well enough to catch it instantly. The small talk had just been for the heck of it, and I knew it.

"Not that I don't love you, Liss, because I do. But you haven't phoned me ever since you got crowned queen—which is okay, I know it's busy, maddening stuff but I know you didn't call just to ask about the weather in Palm Springs. What's really going on?" Lissa sighed on the other end of the line, which proved me right.

"Alright, Adrian. I'll… I'll cut to the chase. Spirit has been rearing its ugly head. It's been taking a huge toll on me." I frowned, "I'm almost positive that I'm supposed to respond to this in a different way, but spirit being a pain in the ass isn't exactly news."

"Oh, I mean its getting worse than usual. Yeah, spirit has a lot of side-effects, but these days… It's something else. I've been feeling these sudden pangs… I don't know why, but it's like I can feel some disruption in the nature of things. Every Moroi in the school has been having a hard time working their magics lately."

I simply nodded, "I see."

"Christian set an entire building on fire by mistake, one of the school's best water wielders lost their control and overflowed a fountain—causing it to collapse. Elemental magic is all over the place lately and Spirit has the worst effects. I was wondering if the same thing was happening with you, if you were sensing what I am. And… uh, Sonya Karp told Rose that Sydney's a witch now? Do you think you could ask her if she has any idea what's going on?"

I froze. Spirit _had _been acting up lately, but I'd just figured it was because of my withdrawal symptoms but maybe—maybe it was something else entirely.

"Okay, now that's plain weird," I confirmed, "Spirit has been a bitch lately, more so than usual. So I'd probably have to go with a 'yes'. You okay?"

Lissa's voice was clearly unhinged, "I am, but I'm starting to have a very bad feeling about this. All of today's classes were cancelled due to elemental magic going crazy. And Adrian? There was a death on campus. Whatever is causing all this, it's strong and it could be fatal in the long run."

I took a deep breath, "You hang in there, cousin. I'll talk to Sydney—I think she knows a coven of witches who could help, too."

"That'll be great; Adrian. Listen to me, please take care of yourself and Jill, too—but especially of yourself. This thing, whatever it is, it's targeting Spirit users. Sonya feels it too."

This didn't surprise me in the least. My response was dry, "No wonder Spirit users are so few and far between, we've got the highest mortality rate. They always get to us first."

"Yeah," Lissa's voice was quiet. "Yeah, they do."


	3. Blood Is The New Black

**A/N: Quick note. I know this is all going to be a little confusing at first, but hopefully the premise of this story will make itself clear in the coming chapters. I guess I'm a sucker for ambiguity and have a thing for keeping my readers guessing and on their toes. xP**

**Credits: This chapter contains dialogue adapted from "The Fiery Heart" written by Richelle Mead.**

* * *

**Chapter Three** \- Sydney

_Now all your love is wasted_  
_Then who the hell was I?_  
_'Cause now I'm breaking at the britches_  
_And at the end of all your lines  
_

* * *

Blood Is The New Black

Mrs. Terwilliger looked like one of those Disney movie she-villains.

She had settled into a new home pretty quickly after her last one burned down, courtesy of an unstable, homicidal witch. All her cats lounged around the small space, purring, sipping milk or licking their own behinds. I wouldn't go as far as to say that her humble abode was neat and tidy, but most of her things were boxed up around the house and kept away from the important stuff. Said important stuff being witch material.

Material used for spells, crafts, the works. The house was already encompassed in the smell of incense, candle wax and kitten litter. It was beginning to look almost identical to her old home, now that I thought about it. Mrs. Terwilliger herself was a mess. Her hair was sticking out in unpleasant angles, and they looked like they hadn't been combed in days. Her robes were wrinkly and her face was worn out, she had huge dark circles under her eyes that looked almost foreboding in the candlelight.

I hadn't met her in the last three days because after rushing me back to Palm Springs, she'd made a little impromptu trip to god knows where.

"I don't want to sound disrespectful, but you called me here and then conveniently dissapeared for three days! What's going on?" I asked, feeling a little disoriented. Mrs. Terwilliger flashed me an unapologetic look, "I was out on business, running an errand. As I said, you are here because it is important. It is precisely why I had to call you here on such short notice. I'm glad you came by the way, I thought I wouldn't be seeing you again after you skipped town."

"Alright. So what is it that was so important that I had to come here in person?"

"Is that hostility I am sensing, Miss Melbourne? Need I remind you that I did not have to put in a fair lot of persuading in getting you here. I'd even go as far as to state that you are here on your very own terms. I believe you have some… unfinished business here?"

I frowned, deciding that she only ever called me by that old nickname when she was upset. She didn't have to say it; Mrs. Terwilliger usually kept our relationship strictly business. She didn't try to poke and prod around about my personal life, but the jab was clearly about Adrian. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest,

"I'm sorry. Please, tell me what's happening around here. What do my dreams mean? Why did you sound so shaken up on our phone conversation? Is… Is it Alicia again?"

I had so many questions, and I wasn't sure how willing Mrs. Terwilliger was when it came to revealing information. She could be a little difficult to work with.

She sighed and picked up a cup of coffee that had somehow skipped my notice, she took a few long sips before setting it back on the table and sitting down on the chair. She signaled me to take a seat on the one opposite to her's. I tried my best to ignore the fresh smell of caffeine, which was actually quite easy in Mrs. Terwilliger's home—where all sorts of scents and smells go to relax and be themselves.

"No, it isn't Alicia, unfortunately… We don't know what or who it is quite yet. Your dreams can have multiple meanings, I spoke to some of the more experienced witches in my coven, and even they seemed to draw a blank at what exactly it is that we are dealing with."

I felt my frown deepen slightly, that wasn't much to go on. "I need you to start keeping a dream journal. Keep a record of your dreams—if you get any more, and report to me afterwards."

Mrs. Terwilliger didn't seem to notice when I shifted uncomfortably and went on talking,  
"I have been getting dozens of reports from witches, allies and the likes about elemental vampric magic acting up, as well as a ripple being caused in the balance of things. Someone seems to be tampering with the magical and vampric worlds, dabbling in magic that is very, very powerful and beyond us. The problem that arises here is that the roots of such severe magicks come from the dark arts—and that is never good. I haven't come across a dark magic dweller in years, they're rare… and dangerous. If that is truly what is causing these interferences then…" her voice trailed off as the doorbell sounded out.

Mrs. Terwilliger looked confused, "Now, who could that be?" I shrugged, "It must be Adrian. He called me this morning, specifically asking if he could drop you a visit. Since I was coming over to meet you anyway…" She dismissed me with a wave of her hand, "Let him in, its no problem."

I nodded and walked over to open the door. I'd never admit it, but sometimes I got the feeling that she liked Adrian more than she liked me, and _of course_ she liked Adrian—he's Adrian, but it still made me slightly jealous and I never understood why.

I guess Adrian just had that effect on the female gender as a whole.

Adrian flashed me a white-teethed grin as he strode in and I closed the door shut behind him, "Thanks for letting me crash the tea party, Sage."

I stopped myself from responding to that and followed him back to Mrs. Terwilliger's living room. She piped up as she saw him, a chubby orange tabby now perched on her lap. She stroked the cat behind the ears and smiled at Adrian, "It's good to see you, Adrian."

He returned the smile, "How's it going, Jackie?" I'd almost forgotten they were on a first name basis. Or, nickname, I guess. I plastered a smile. "Not fairly well, I'm afraid." Mrs. Terwilliger announced honestly, and Adrian shook his head like he knew. "That's actually why I wanted to talk to you. I had quite the conversation with one of my friends from the Moroi Royal Court recently and she thinks that something's disrupting the natural pattern of things or something? Moroi Elemental magic is all over the place, they even cancelled most of the regular classes."

Mrs. Terwilliger's face grew dark, like she knew this was going to happen. I tried to scan Adrian's face for more information and felt a sudden pang of tingling pain in my chest. Was Rose the friend from Court that he was talking about? I liked and respected her, but I could see the appeal he had for her…

_Stop it Sydney. First off, Adrian is not the reason you are back, secondly, you know that you are all he ever thinks about. So, let's not play the blame game._

Sometimes, I hated my conscience.

"Didn't you mention something about elemental magic and interferences? Does this tie into the same thing?" I questioned and Mrs. Terwilliger nodded, "The magical world of witches don't cross with the vampric one. Most of them, on both sides, didn't even know about each other. However as time passed on, our worlds were bound to clash in more ways than one. We accepted each other, and kept our involvements in one another's business to a minimum. Both worlds were comfortable on their sides, as long as each promised not to cross any lines. It was the only way to maintain peace."

Adrian listened to her talk quite intensely, he got that look in his eyes that he got every time he was trying to understand something. Sometimes, he tilted his head to the side like a dog, it was kind of… cute. Then I realized that I was supposed to be focusing on my teacher's words; not Adrian's cuteness.

"Let me take a guess, someone's plotting a World War between the witches and the vamps?" Adrian asked, his tone inquisitive. Mrs. Terwilliger thought about this, her orange pet jumped off of her lap and scurried off. "Something like that, but as I said earlier, I'm not quite sure what this someone wants, or what they'll gain out of this spectacle. There is a balance, you see, that has to be maintained. Witch-Magic and Vampire-Magic are not supposed to be crossing each other, not really. That is how it has been for generations now. Usually, we only clash when it's necessary."

I bit my lower lip, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Mrs. Terwilliger took another sip of her coffee, "Magic is a very complicated subject, my child. It took some of the greatest witches of our time years to simply come close to figuring it out. There are a lot of nuances here, dealing with internal and external magic."

Adrian scoffed, "That sounds unpleasant," I couldn't help but agree. Mrs. Terwilliger shrugged, "Inez, a very powerful witch that I know once told me something about internal and external magic. It gets more complicated when you compare Moroi and human magic, you see. Sometimes they behave similarly, sometimes completely differently. And sometimes, they contradict each other."

"Contradict each other?" Something in those words pricked my inner alarms.

"External, internal. Two sides of the magical coin. Sometimes they clash."

I took a deep breath, feeling slightly light headed. I hadn't sat back down since I'd opened the door for Adrian. He seemed to notice this, his eyes flashed with something like concern, "Haven't you heard the quintessential term that people use before delivering bad news?" He asked Mrs. Terwilliger, who just frowned in response. "You need to sit down for this."

I did as I was told, because I felt like my knees would buckle and betray me if I didn't. I gave him a silent nod of appreciation, he just rolled his eyes like my regard for him was frustrating.

"As I was saying, our worlds clashing is not a good thing. I'm not exactly sure what will happen, but I predict mayhem in both worlds. This could in turn affect the Alchemists, too." Mrs. Terwilliger muttered, eyeing me. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

"If the Alchemists are unable to do their jobs right, and that could happen. Then… there's this whole other possibility that the general public will find out about us." She nodded solemnly, "That is true. The cat will be out of the bag. We can expect everything that both worlds have done to keep things in order disrupted within the time span of simply a few days." I shook my head, "No, we can't let that happen."

Adrian sounded as melancholy as I suddenly felt, "And we know nothing about who could be behind this? Not one lead?" Mrs. Terwilliger looked truly upset as she nodded no, "Not a clue. Except for the fact that this person could be armed and dangerous."

"We won't let that happen, though, right? You—You're a powerful witch, and you've got the coven and… and you told me that I've got merit, right? I'll… I can help! I'll do whatever it takes. I'll cast a million spells if that's what's needed to stop this from happening."I was aware that I was babbling, which was something that I never usually projected myself to. I considered myself the picture of morality and patience. It was stupid though, because if past events were any indication, I was simply deluding myself.

Mrs. Terwilliger sighed, "Yes, but I'm afraid that there isn't much we can do." Adrian looked furious now, "That's all? That is your brilliant plan? To surrender and wait for the storm to take you? I thought you were better than that, Jackie." She glared at him, "This is not a joke, ," there was a sudden venom to her voice. It was uncharacteristic for her to behave that way. She was frantic sometimes; hyped on coffee, she could be cranky, too. If she wanted. Easily angered however, she was not.

"Something wicked is seriously brewing and there is not much that we can do about it. Still, I do have a few ideas up my sleeve. They are experimental, of course." She sounded calmer, but she still had this undertone in her delivery that was slightly condescending. I didn't think she was doing it on purpose. If I was in her place, I'd be infuriated too.

"We are not going to let some lunatic come along and destroy everything we have worked for since the beginning of time! We will not let whoever this is kill the peace between our worlds. I am going to be doing a lot of research, along with some other witchcraft experts and my coven, we will be splitting most of the work. I would like you two to help as well."

I tried to smile a little, to calm things down a notch. "We'll be there. Research is something that I'm an expert at—whatever you need." Suddenly, she looked me up and down from over her glasses and chuckled slightly. "Oh, dear, no. We have got the research part covered. I have a more, ah, special…task for the two of you."

Adrian crossed his arms over his chest, clearly curious. "What's that?"

"You are a Spirit user, and you are a witch in the making. A powerful one, might I add."

I felt my heart picking up a few paces, "What does that have to do with any of this?"

"You two are going to perform some contemporary spells together. Like test subjects. We must experiment, connect the human and vampric worlds through the means of magic and observe the results they provide. We must work together if we are to fend off against this thing."

My jaw dropped, and I could feel Adrian's hesitation through his body language.

"So we're lab rats?" He asked, staring at her with wide, angry eyes.

"No, no, darlings. You are the only two people who might be able to save our world from collapsing in on itself."

xxxxx

That night, I really hoped that the next eight hours were going to be dream-free.

No such luck.

I was on a beach. At least, it seemed like a beach but I couldn't see much. It was very dark, but the sky was littered with stars, and a pleasant full moon twinkled like a giant circular diamond. There were a few clouds drifting around too, they looked blue in the moonlight.

Well, at least this dream would be far more pleasant than the last one I had.

The sound of the waves crashing against the sandy shore was peaceful and brilliant. The cool sand between my bare toes felt relaxing somehow. I felt grounded and safe.

"I think my imagination deserves some praise. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

I looked up to see Adrian, and I realized that this wasn't a prophetic dream after all. It was Adrian's doing. I'd walked in dreams with him before, this wasn't the first time. In fact, we'd gotten quite hot and heavy over dinner plates and china during one of these dreams. Still, I felt like I would never get used to spirit's many fortes.

"Why a beach?" I quizzed, not that I was complaining. Since Adrian and I hadn't spoken in so long, it felt weirdly soothing being in familiar territory with him again. It was strange, thinking that—considering not too long ago I was freaking out when I'd been pulled into one of Adrian's dream meetings. I had been scared out of my mind, finding all of this spirit and vampire magic stuff absurd and deviant.

It was funny how life worked in twisted ways. Considering that I was now a witch and couldn't even deny it. Adrian shrugged, walking over to me. He was barefoot, too. He wore a red button-down shirt, the material was tactile and looked soft…velvety. His eyes looked greener than the sea; and his hair were naturally messy in this dream-version of himself.

Usually, he let me pick the place. It was always different, though. Sometimes we both were wearing what we wore when we fell asleep, other times he'd ask me very politely if he could put a cocktail dress or something of that sort on me. Tonight, though, was thoroughly his depiction.

I wore a lose sea green beach dress that fell down to my ankles. It was made of cotton and felt cool against my body. "I don't know. I read somewhere that pristine beaches are the ultimate haven; full of peace and tranquility. Thought that would be a nice change of pace from the real life crap that's going on. Plus, I like seeing you in summer outfits. _Very_ flattering." He said, a mischievous curve to his mouth. I smiled slightly and walked with him, letting my arms hang lose.

A gentle breeze ruffled my hair, and some strands flew directly toward my face, I pushed them away. "I never thought I'd be in an Adrian-induced dream again," I admitted, Adrian sighed, "Dissapointed?" I shook my head no, "Not at all. I'm kind of glad that you're here. I feel oddly safer, somehow. If I'm dreaming with you then at least I don't have to worry about those creepy prophetic dreams."

Adrian tilted his head suggestively, "Yeah, I was meaning to ask you about those. What were they about?" I really didn't want to talk about it. I just couldn't tell him the things I'd seen, so I decided it was time to change the subject.

"Who called you?" Adrian frowned, looking slightly confused. "What?"

"I mean, you said that a friend from the Moroi Court called you with concerns of Moroi magic. Who was it?" I asked.

This time, I could practically see him suppressing his mirth. I'd aimed at changing the subject, and I'd apparently done _too_ good of a job with it.

"Could it be? Is it possible that Sydney Sage is jealous?"

"I didn't say I'm jealous—don't flatter yourself."

"It wasn't Rose, if that's what you're thinking. What would you have done if it _was _Rose, though?" I rolled my eyes at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction.

"I would do absolutely nothing." I lied.

Adrian got this twinkle in his eye, one that indicated to me that he was going to unleash into a sarcastic retort very soon.

"Really, Sage? Because I worry. I worry about you, that you might be sitting at the edge of your seat, in cold sweat, panicking because your beloved is in the arms of his former lover. I worry that your blood pressure may skyrocket, or you might start frothing at the mouth, and chewing on the furniture. That much stress just isn't healthy, and we wouldn't want you to spontaneously combust."

"Oh, please," I scoffed, chuckling at his ridiculous comment. "I'm not worried."

"Is that a challenge, Sage? We could go to Court right now, you know. But then you'd have to protect me with some mystical Kung-Fu from all the screaming girls that'll be attacking us and trying to rip my clothes off. Do you think you're up for something like that?"

I laughed again, and he broke into a smile. It wasn't mocking or mischievous, it was a genuine smile that lit up his entire face.

"I'm not impressed by the talents of Jet Steele," I deadpanned, and he sighed, lifting a finger up to touch my cheek. It was the faintest touch, a ghost of a touch, actually. Still, warning bells went off in my entire body, suddenly, I had butterflies in my stomach. And they'd brought friends.

His touch was soft, warm, it spread something like desire throughout my body. It felt like pleasure. Electricity. It also seemed to give me a sense of familiarity; like the feeling one got when they returned home for the first time after a long trip abroad. I tilted my head a little, away from him. His finger was gone, and my skin itched for contact. I hated how vivid these dreams could be, I really felt like it was all real. A little _too_ real for my liking.

"Jet Steele lost his charm when he fell in love with you."

Adrian stated, his voice was hesitant, but earnest at the same time. His expression was unapologetic.

I felt my posture waver, and I stumbled just a little. It wasn't like he hadn't said those words to me before; but it was the fact that I'd never imagined I would hear them again.

"Adrian, don't…" But I sounded stupid and contrived, and I knew it. Adrian's face was like steel, "Don't what? Speak my mind?"

"Why?" I squeaked, my voice was extremely quiet, I was surprised he could hear me at all. "Why do you keep… Even when I—I hurt you so much… And you still…"

I wasn't sure where I was going with my statement. Clearly, the sand was making it's way into my brain and preventing it from functioning properly. I was practically speechless. Adrian sighed, steadying my shoulders and looking at me directly in the eyes. His eyes held so much. So many emotions and so much pain. He was so expressive and beautiful, it made my heart hurt sometimes. His voice was calm, barely a whisper,

"You don't give up on the people you love. And yes, it sounds like a crappy quote from a Nicholas Sparks movie, but I feel it, Sage. And the thing is, you feel it, too. You know you do. I can see it in your aura, I can see it when you talk to me, I can see it in your eyes. This isn't some one-sided love story delusion that's all in my head. You love me, too. But you won't admit it."

"It's not just that—"

"It's fear, that's all it is. You already gave in and ran away once. It's time you stop running. I'm not asking you for anything… Not really. But you need to stop taking orders, Marcus, the Alchemists, your dad? To hell with them, Sage!"

"That's it, isn't it? Follow orders. All my life that's what I've been groomed to do. They say jump, I ask how high and then I get the job done." I muttered carefully, having a revelation of my own. "And see how far that got you? You almost went into open rebellion on the Alchemist front—you ditched Marcus to come back, and you fell for me. You can't go back from all this now. You've already changed. You're clearly too far gone, Sage, and in this context, that's a good thing."

"I know but—" He cut me off, looking slightly angry now. He backed away from me,  
"Do you know what your problem is?"

"What?"

"Your problem is that you can't just let yourself be happy. You've got to put rules on it, and conditions. You never just let yourself enjoy being you."

I was already bawling my palms into fists as he spoke, feeling the need to defend my actions. I was ready to burst into a taunting response but stopped myself as I caught the sight of blood pouring down Adrian's right nostril. It wasn't much, but it was enough to give me the chills. I knew that this wasn't another prophetic dream, but simply the sight of blood on him was starting to appal me. Suddenly, I felt like I was in that horrible dream again, and Adrian's body was laying next to me, he was lifeless and pale. His face was sullen, his eyes were simply desolate, empty vessels—his pupils slits. The beautiful green pigment in them that I adored so much looked slimy and ghoulish now. It haunted me.

I screamed.

"Sydney? Hey, relax—" I cut him off, backing away from him.

Once I was sure that I had put enough space between the two of us, I took a deep breath and looked down, doing my level best not to meet his eyes or look at his bleeding nose. He raised his hands up in surrender and didn't take a step toward me, probably afraid that he would frighten me. That was a wise choice. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

Couldn't he see it? Couldn't he feel the blood oozing down his nose? He was a vampire, he was supposed to have a strong sense of these things. I winced, my body vibrating and goosebumps arising on my skin. I didn't think I'd ever been this afraid before. I considered myself a fairly tough person, at least in these situations, I was usually the one who knew how to hold everything together. Now, I felt like the opposite of that. I closed my eyes and opened them again, steadying myself. _It was just a dream. Just a dream_. If I kept telling myself that, maybe someday I'd believe it. Just the thought of what I'd seen that night made me sick.

When I finally spoke, my voice was extremely soft, "Your nose is b-bleeding…"

Adrian frowned, noticed, and wiped it right off with a wave of his hand. He did look slightly bothered by it; but he didn't look overly peeved. I, on the other hand, thought that if I ever saw blood again I was going to throw up. I never did have a phobia of blood, it was biology, and it was inside all of us. I had written countless reports on the origin of blood cells and was even a fan of horror flicks from time to time. I'd been rather fascinated by it when I was younger, but now that I knew what the world consisted of... vampires and witches and all kinds of incomprehensible nightmares—I was afraid. More than I'd ever been. And simply the thought of Adrian hurt or… I would not use the _D_ word!

"Okay, that's weird. Maybe it's a side effect of spirit, huh?" When I turned to look back at him, I could practically feel all the rage bubbling to the surface.

"How much spirit does it take to create these dreams, Adrian? Stop using it so much!"

Adrian shook his head like he'd heard this before, "Actually, contrary to popular belief, spirit dreams hardly take any strength at all. Usually, I'm not even tired after them. Now healing or compulsion—those are more heavy on the spirit. It's nothing to worry about."

I didn't care. The fact that he was using spirit at all, and that I was letting him, was wrong. "End this dream, Adrian. Please, just… end it. Oh, god… Didn't Mrs. Terwilliger mention that elemental magic was going out of balance? Do you think it affects spirit, too? What if it affects spirit even more than normal Moroi abilities? This…This is not good! End it."

I don't know if it was the sound of my voice or the deadly look on my face but Adrian nodded wretchedly. Before he ended the dream, he gave me this strange look… I wasn't sure what it meant, but he looked a little worried… for me.

He was worried about me? _I_ was the one who was supposed to be worried! He was using too much spirit and it was going to kill him! Or…Or something was definitely going to kill him. Something might happen to him if he isn't cautious. He just shook his head, exasperated, completely oblivious to the danger ahead.

I sighed as he started to dissapear and the darkness settled in.

xxxxx

"He has such kissable lips, doesn't he?" Jill muttered in a daze during lunch at the cafeteria the next day. Somehow, thanks to Mrs. Terwilliger and a long talk that I had with Donna Stanton, I was given admission back into Amberwood. I had some work to catch up to; but thankfully most of the teachers here adhered to me and homework was a breeze.

Jill and I were back on talking terms again and I couldn't be happier. Somehow, I knew that despite all the horrible stuff that was going on in our world, I felt good being back here in Palm Springs with the people that I had missed so much. This was my turf. It didn't completely solve all my problems; but they were easier to deal with in familiar territory—or at least, it felt that way. I turned to shoot Jill a quizzical look, "Who are you talking about?"

She was twirling her fork in her mashed potatoes, making them look even mushier; if that was possible. She'd braided her brunette locks into a neat plait and seemed to be dressed to impress in a semi-formal light pink dress, we had uniforms here at Amberwood; but she'd sent her old ones for measurement and got to wear her regular clothes for the week. I could tell that she was taking advantage of that. "Neil," she said, eyeing the new addition to our ever-growing family. He was tall and had bright blue eyes. His black hair were trimmed nearly to perfection, I could see why he caught Jill's eye—until I remembered that she was crushing on Eddie only a few months ago. "Isn't he just… perfect? I mean look at those lips. All delicate and proper and, oh I bet he flosses!" I shot her another puzzled look, "First of all, stop…You're starting to sound like my friend, Julia. And I thought we were talking about lips, not teeth. Plus, weren't you into Eddie? How are things going with that?"

The last time we spoke things weren't going so well. Angeline had cheated on Eddie and he was majorly upset, however, that also made him vulnerable which meant that Jill could make her move. Oh, god. I was even starting to think like Julia. Creepy!

At that, Jill just snorted petulantly, "Not going," she frowns, "We're not doing anything. Lately, he's been in robot-guardian mode. Which is saying something, because Neil is the Poster Child for that." I glanced at Neil again, he was cutting his peas into two with a fork. I couldn't help but agree. I had no issues with a man with flourish; but Neil came across as slightly impassive to me. Then again, I wasn't very good with people so what did I know?

"You should talk to him," I urge on, "I'm sure he'll open up to you." I was in no position to be supplying anyone with romantic advice; since I was in such a fickle position in the love department myself, but I felt good being able to give Jill advice again. Just like old times.

She smiled, practically reading my thoughts, "I'm glad to have you back, Sydney."

"I'm glad to be back," I respond sincerely.

"So is the dress to impress Neil or Eddie?" I asked, smirking at her. Jill shrugged, a playful smile at her lips, "We'll see how it goes."

Jill suddenly got this far-away look in her eyes and she began to play with her food again, "Sydney, can I ask you a question?" I nodded without thinking, "Of course you can, shoot."

"Well… Adrian's been a little upset. He's really worried about you." I sighed and took a sip of the water bottle lying in front of me, "He shouldn't be," Jill's eyes suddenly lit up and she had got this newfound vehemence in them, "Yes, he should! Do you know how he's been these past two months while you were away vacationing with that blond idiot? Miserable. It hurt him you know, that you left him like that after everything that he had planned. Now that you're back, he's confused and disturbed—he has no idea what he's doing except for the fact that he still loves you."

I wasn't surprised, this happened to Jill quite a lot. She started to speak for Adrian; it was because of the bond that they had, now that Adrian and Jill were linked, she could personally experience a lot of his thoughts. Stupid bond. She almost sounded like Adrian sometimes and that wasn't pleasant, infact, she was one of the many reasons that I'd thought up of why Adrian and I shouldn't be together. Jill would never call someone who she did not even personally know an idiot - not without being under the influence of something. Still, her words stung. I already felt terrible about what I'd done to Adrian; but realizing that by breaking Adrian's heart I'd caused a significant amount of pain to Jill, too, I only felt worse. She had to experience all of his agony first-hand and that must have been difficult.

Sometimes, I admired her for how strong she was.

I sighed; feeling extremely guilty. Jill must have read my facial expressions, or maybe she was experiencing my guilt first-hand too because her face grew sheepish, "I'm sorry," she muttered, "I didn't mean to sound… mean." I smiled back at her, pushing the tray of food away, suddenly losing my appetite. "I know you didn't."

xxxxx

Clarence Donohue and his housekeeper slash on hand feeder, Dorothy were waiting for us at the doorway of his victorian-style mansion as we walked in. Adrian was taking the wheel and driving everyone for scheduled feedings in his mustang while the Alchemists arranged for Latte's replacement. My poor brown Subaru had met a cruel fate thanks to the evil witch who'd been after Mrs. Terwilliger.

Everyone seemed to be on the bandwagon, and we were now a total of six people. There was Jill, Eddie, Angeline, Neil, Adrian and me. It was funny how out of the six of us, only two of them actually required feeding. It didn't matter though, since Jill was our number one priority and wherever she went (mostly), so did her guardians.

We walked into the mansion and I flashed Mr. Donohue a polite smile, Jill hugged him, everyone was sort of fond of the old man by now; including myself. Dorothy looked excited, like she was just waiting to get buzzed on the precious high that a vampire bite provided. Jill headed to the kitchen with Dorothy while the rest of us sat sprawled about in Mr. Donohue's living room. Sometimes I felt bad for him, to live alone in such a huge mansion.

It must be maddening.

While everybody had settled themselves in and were chatting about; Adrian grabbed my arm and pulled me with him into a corner so that we could speak. His tone was hushed,

"Listen—" he started, but I cut him off.

"If this is about last night's dream, I don't want to talk about it." I stated, my tone and posture both incredibly rigid. Adrian looked a little surprised, he blinked twice and then frowned, "That wasn't what I was going to say, but I'm glad to know that you feel so comfortable around me." His eyes told me that he felt betrayed because I didn't want to tell him everything that was going on in my heart and mind in keen detail.

I sighed, not wanting to engage in another argument over here in front of everyone, so I waved it off. "What was it you wanted to tell me?" Adrian peered around, probably just making sure nobody was listening in, and then turned back to me. We were standing dangerously close, I could smell that irrevocable scent of his latest expensive perfume, and his blue button-down shirt was doing wonders for his physique. I snapped out of it when Adrian snapped his fingers in front of my face, "Were you even listening?" I wet my lower lip and shook my head, "Sorry, I was thinking about… nevermind. What were you saying again?"

He ran a hand through his hair before speaking again, "I was _saying,_ that maybe we should tell Eddie and the rest of the Scooby gang about this whole magic world war thing." I was pretty sure he was losing his brain cells one by one. I stared at him for a long time before speaking,

"Are you insane? Is that hair gel seeping its way into your brain?"

Adrian sighed loudly, trying to make it clear to me that he thought that _I _was the insane one.

"Sage, they're going to figure it out sooner or later, and Jill already knows."

"How on earth does Jill—Oh, right." I blushed. "Exactly, plus the others are going to notice when things start to stop making sense. They deserve a prior warning; and maybe the two of us don't have to be the only people helping Jackie and her coven. I thought we could use a few extra pairs of hands."

"Adrian! This could put Jill in more danger than she's already in, so absolutely not!" Adrian groaned, "Come on, Sage. Jailbait's doing fine, and she's got Castile, Angeline and London Bridge watching her back. Not to mention the two of us. We could use the help, and you know it." I just shook my head, this was not a topic up for discussion. "We can't risk it, and I do not want to make a big scene about this."

"Did you not hear anything that Jackie was saying? Did you grip the bit about the world plunging into chaos? It already _is_ a big scene!"

I couldn't put Jill in danger on my watch, and telling everyone about it would make it an even bigger deal than it already was. On the other hand…

_You are the only two people who might be able to save our world from collapsing in on itself.  
_  
I hadn't forgotten her words, in fact they were pretty much engraved in my brain in flashing neon letters. Maybe Adrian was right… "Well, Jill _is_ smart and we could use the muscle…"

"See, now we're talking," Adrian coaxed, "I just don't want anybody to get hurt."

"And you think I do? I know what I'm talking about, Sage. I'll be looking out for Jailbait—and the others, every step of the way. There's nothing to worry about, okay? We've gotta look at the big picture here."

Finally, I nodded in surrender, "I suppose you're right."

There it was again. Adrian's annoying habit of always being right.


	4. The Enchanted Rose

**Credits: The rose spell that has been used in this chapter is adapted from the Television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997) and all rights for that go to the show's writers.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Four **\- Adrian

_In the darkness before the dawn_

_In the swirling of the storm_

_When I'm rolling with the punches, and hope is gone_

_Leave a light on_

* * *

The Enchanted Rose

"So what is this, then? Like… A Supernatural apocalypse?" Eddie Castile was staring at me like I was a mental patient.

He wasn't exactly wrong, I was on the way to insanity as it was; what with god's gift to unlucky Moroi—spirit's influence and stuff. So I wasn't as offended as I should have been. After breaking the news to Castile, Jailbait, Angeline and the imported Guardian, we were all at Jackie's house, and she didn't look too pleased about it.

She kept glaring from Sydney, to me and then back while making this irritable 'tsk' sound with her teeth. She was mad pissed. Sydney looked like she wanted to be swallowed whole, her cheeks flushed and her lashes dipped. She kept staring at the floor as if silently pleading it to swallow her up. I on the other hand, was the lone one who thought that telling the rest of them had been a good idea.

Jailbait was standing upright with a perky smile, like she could take on anything. I admired her can-do attitude, if I had half of that maybe I'd be able to submit Mrs. Valentine's projects on time. Castile was having trouble understanding that this was something that was actually happening, he kept asking us ridiculous questions and looking around the room for any sudden threats. I told him that whatever was causing this wasn't going to jump out of the shadows and attack; but he didn't buy it. Neil didn't look so good, he was sitting on one of the couches Jackie had pulled out as still as a corpse. All the color had drained out of his face and he jumped a little; startled, when one of Jackie's cat friends tried to nudge him. Angeline was simply amused by this whole thing, she kept asking when the 'fun' was going to start. I thought her willpower was adorable; the problem was that the sort of enemy that we were currently dealing with didn't have an ass to kick.

"I wouldn't term it as an apocalypse, ah… I will not rule out the possibility, however." Jackie then turned to Sydney again and crossed her arms over her chest, "How exactly are your pals planning to help?" Sydney looked like she'd been scolded by a teacher, her face blanched and I suppressed my laughter at how cute she looked when she was afraid. She didn't know that she'd crossed over to the side of us rebels a long time ago. She still had an issue with wronging authority figures.

"Well…They're all willing to help and I thought that the more people we had working to prevent this, the better. Actually… It was Adrian's idea. He'll elaborate further."

I stared at her but shrugged it off and took it like a man. All pairs of eyes settled on me, I took a step away from the wall I'd been leaning against and bowed down dramatically, "Settle down, folks." Nobody seemed amused, and I had to cut all the jokes I'd thought of and switch right to the main monologue.

"Look, if the world's in danger then I think my friends deserve to know. Jailbait and I are bonded; so she was bound to find out sooner than later. No pun intended. Now, I thought sooner would be better than later because instead of only the two of us—that's Sydney and me, helping. Now you've got all of us… Except London Bridge over there, the guy looks like he's gonna pee in his pants." Jill frowned at me and mouthed something like, 'That was not a nice thing to say!'. Immediately, she was at his side and asking him if he was okay, he nodded and looked up at me, trying to seem intimidating but failing at a level that was almost funny. "I'll be fine." He muttered through gritted teeth.

Jackie took off her glasses and began to polish them frantically, "Um… Adrian, while I completely trust you and your circle of friends… dealing with something like this… It—It requires a certain… uh… finesse."

"Way to be diplomatic," I muttered under my breath, Angeline piped up, her eyes were fierce.

"I have finesse," she insisted, "I have finesse coming out of my bottom!"

Everyone turned to shoot her a puzzled glance and she shrugged, "What?" I turned back to Jackie, "Look, Jackie. I think they can really help us here. Give them a shot, yeah?" I plastered on one of the most dangerously charming smiles that I had up my sleeve and hoped she'd fall for it. Finally, she sighed and nodded in defeat. "Alright… If you must be that way, I'll try it your way. I will give you all something to do, but you must remain covert about this. No blabbering about this to anyone outside of your group, and I—I'll try to let you participate as long as none of you are in danger of getting hurt."

Eddie crossed his arms over his chest, "Do you think the Strigoi have something to do with this?" Eddie had personal reasons for loathing our evil fangy foes but I could tell that he was hoping that he would get something to smash or kill. Jackie shook her head, "The Strigoi are dangerous, but they aren't the brightest batch. They wouldn't have the skills it takes to pull something like this off, no. This is the work of someone who is advanced in the dark arts… A magic practitioner."

"So we don't get to kill things?" Angeline sounded dissapointed, like a kid who wasn't allowed to eat her Halloween candy.

Jackie shook her head no, "You get to research and help me buy some supplies for the spells that Adrian and Sydney get to perform. Also, one of you could volunteer to fetch snacks on overly busy days."

I could already tell that Neil was calling dibs on volunteering to be Snack Boy. The rest of them looked slightly displeased but agreed anyway. Eddie hadn't taken Sydney being a witch very well - but he was getting through his initial shock, which was progress. Angeline had simply shrugged it off saying that "I knew it all along. Nobody spends that much time with a teacher, not even a nerd like Sydney." Jill already knew everything to some extent.

"Alright then," Jill said, and Eddie nodded, "Whatever it takes." At this, Jackie smiled a little,

"This is very brave and noble of you all." I grinned, at least everyone seemed to be getting along.

xxxxx

"How was class?" I'd missed my art class today because I had to go to Jackie's house with the gang. I was talking to Rowena in the evening and asking her about what went down in class, she told me there was more homework—I wasn't surprised.

"Damp," she muttered a little grouchily. "Mrs. Valentine took an off so we had a substitute. Professors who spit when they talk should come with warning labels on the course description. But otherwise fairly boring, she assigned everyone with a project that's due next Monday," she said, handing me the assignment sheet. Those assignments were really piling up and I was starting to have dreams about ditching this whole college routine.

"I'm glad I missed it, I don't like spit in my hair." I replied honestly.

"So, guess what?" I told her as we walked down the lane back towards my apartment. "You got me a pony? Geez, thanks Adrian. I've always wanted one. Will it fit in my room? Does it have purple stripes?" Rowena questioned sarcastically. I shake my head, "Sydney's back,"

She stopped in her tracks and a teasing smile played at her lips, "You're kidding!"

I nodded no, "God's honest truth, I'll even pinky swear on it." She punched me in the chest, "So? Tell me about it! Did you guys have hot, passionate sex on the hood of a police car?"

I laughed, thinking about how sex with Sydney would actually be like. I couldn't even imagine it, since we hadn't gotten to that stage yet. It was strictly making out with Sydney—not even tons of under-the-shirt action, really… and that had been back when she hadn't been scared out of her mind at the sight of me. I was still feeling a little crappy after that talk we had in the dream. The sight of a little blood had sent her over the edge and into a frenzy, that wasn't like the Sydney Sage I loved and loathed.

I mean, sure, it worried me, too. It had to be a side-effect of the elemental powers going crazy, though and nothing else, but when Sydney had met my eyes again, they were hard as steel and she looked like she'd seen a ghost. It still wigged me out, thinking of it.

"Nah, she's been a little distant. We're not really in a good place," I admitted, and Rowena started walking again, her smile dissapearing. "You still love her, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. I love every agitating inch of her."

Rowena shrugged, "Then try to make things work. It's not going to be all plums and peaches instantly—you've gotta work for it. Why is she back, anyway? Is it for you?"

That was unfortunetely a question I couldn't answer, I couldn't tell her the real reason Sydney was back. She wasn't a vamp friend.

Plus, I had the feeling that if Rowena knew that I was a vampire, she'd start comparing me to Edward Cullen from those pathetic Twilight movies and I wouldn't ever hear the end of it.

I shuddered at the thought. "Hell if I knew."

xxxxx

"What kind of spell are we talking about?" I quizzed, but Jackie had already cut the phone.

That night, Sydney and I had received a call from Jackie asking us to come right over to her house for some spell experimentation. I wasn't particularly amused about it, but at least I'd get to see Sage—that was always a plus.

So I drove to Jackie's new apartment for the second time that day to find Sydney already over there. My heart started to beat ten times faster when I caught sight of her. It wasn't like we'd been miles apart; I'd seen her this morning… But there was a glow to her face…Or maybe it was just the hundred dozen candles that had been placed about the room that made it seem that way. Either way, she looked beautiful. She had all of her blonde hair brushed to one side of her neck and she was wearing jeans and a formal shirt. Semi-formals always suited her. She was playing with one of Jackie's many cats, the little black animal purred in her lap. Sydney's head jerked up as she saw me and she smiled warmly, for probably the first time since she'd been back. "Hey, Adrian,"

I grinned as I walked in, "He likes you," I observed.

Sydney looked down at the cat in her lap and her mouth curved a little, "What do you mean? Can you read animal auras too?" I nodded my head no, "I can just tell that he likes you, Sage. Although, I've heard that reading animal auras is a possibility. That would be cool, wouldn't it?"

Sydney nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of animals," I muttered, sitting down on the couch next to her, "I think it's time you take the dragon with you. An absent parent is not a good parent, plus I really need a break from all the screeching before my ears start to blee—" I didn't finish the sentence, thinking about Sydney and her newfangled fear of blood.

She caught it, but tried to pretend like she hadn't heard me say that.

"Oh, I'm sorry I had to keep him with you for so long. Yeah, sure… I can take him tomorrow. I'll drop by your apartment." I smiled appreciatively then opened my mouth to ask her about the dream but thought better of it.

It made her uncomfortable, so no matter how curious I was, I wasn't going to prod her about it and make things worse. Thankfully, Jackie came into the room on time and postponed any further conversation.

"I'm so happy that the two of you came. I know that it's late and you both have better things to do but I thought it might be time we began with the experimental spells." She was wearing a dark blue robe and the rims of her glasses almost fell off her nose. At least she'd decided that she needed to groom something other than her cats for once, her hair looked neater and her face looked brighter—or maybe it really was the stupid candles.

"What are all the candles for?" I asked her. Seriously, it was starting to smell like aroma therapy in here.

"It sets the mood, and fire is an element that fuels magic. Somewhat like a catalyst. Also, I like the smell of burning wax." Sydney sighed and let the cat jump off of her lap, "Did you call Amberwood?"

"I've already told them that I need to keep you extra hours for a special project. Not far from the truth, is it?" Sydney nodded.

"So what is the spell, then?" Sydney asked, echoing my thoughts.

"Ah, yes," Jackie nodded, pulling out a large book and placing it on the table. "The spell is fairly simple, since the two of you are very new at this, I don't want to pressure you." I could feel an unspoken _yet_ after her words.

"I think I'm up for anything as long as there aren't any animal sacrifices or bloodletting rituals." I joked.

Both Jackie and Sydney stared at me like they'd just been offended. I sank into the couch and shrugged, cancelling about twelve witch jokes that I'd thought up on the drive over. "Now," Jackie started, pushing her glasses up to the bridge of her nose and reading an extract from the big book. "Is that a grimoire?" Sydney questioned, which I assumed was a fancy term for _Magic for Dummies_. Jackie nodded, barely paying attention to us, "Ah, yes, it is." Sydney looked like a child on Christmas morning, her face lit up… I even think there was drool. If only she looked at me that way.

"Can I read it?" Jackie looked up from the book finally and nodded, "Perhaps, after I'm done with it. Plenty of research to do." I could already tell that Sydney was upset that she was forced to do practical work instead of theory. She enjoyed research and reading like the rest of us enjoyed a good party. It was her escape.

"Ah, so we must start with the spell, now." She announced, handing me a small container filled to the brim with some white powder. "What is this?" I wanted to know.

"It's sand," Jackie explained. "Special sand?"

"No, just sand."

"Now, I need the two of you to sit down on the floor," she requested, pointing at the ground. We did as told, and I stood up and sat back down in the middle of the floor, feeling a little stupid for unknown reasons. "Adrian, I need you to pour the sand on the floor in the design of a four-point star in a circle. Can you do that?" I shrugged, it was easy and pretty much like painting a pattern, so I nodded yes and got to work.

Meanwhile, Jackie walked over to Sydney and handed her a red rose. Once I finished illustrating the symbol, I looked up at Jackie, "What exactly do we have to do?"

"Oh. You're going to float the rose. Then use the magicks to pluck the petals off, one at a time. It's a test of synchronicity. Your minds have to be perfectly attuned to work as a single delicate implement. I need to see exactly how compatible vampric and human magic can be when focused on."

Most of what she said went over my head and came across as utter gibbersh, Sydney on the other hand, looked a little pale. I eyed her, "You okay?" She blinked and took a deep breath,  
"I'm alright."

"You know we don't have to do anything that we don't want to, Sage,"

"I know. I'm fine."

"Are you two ready?" Jackie asked, and we nodded.

Honestly, I was unsure what was gonna happen but I trusted Sydney enough to give it a shot anyway. "Now I want the two of you to concentrate while you are doing this, like you are meditating. Only, you are going to work with the power of your will. I need you both to connect on an intimate level. To achieve this, you must tune out the sounds of the trivial world around you and focus on each other. Focus on the sound of your heartbeats. Focus on your partner, try to be in tune with their thoughts. After that, as one, I need you to will the flower petals off. Do you understand?"

I sighed and glanced at Sydney, she looked a little unsettled; but as soon as she caught me staring, she flashed me a tentative smile. I smiled back and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, just so that she'd know she could be comfortable around me. It didn't seem to make her invincible, but it did seem to give her some confidence. "We understand." She confirmed.

"Alright then we shall begin. Miss Sage, place the rose on top of the circled star."

Sydney did as directed, we were sitting across from each other now; amongst the candles. There was a few meters of space between us, but it wasn't much. Sydney closed her eyes then and I followed suit. "You will start slow," Jackie directed.

Sydney reached her hands out to me and I linked my hands with hers. My palms felt warm against her skin and it was only getting warmer. It felt good, getting to hold her again. Well, technically, we weren't exactly holding each other but my skin had been tingling for her touch since she'd left. Her palms were smoothe and soft, only slightly smaller than mine and somehow they fit perfectly with each other. We just sat there opposite from each other, with the rose and the weird symbol in between us, hands held, breathing controlled. There was only silence for a few seconds until Jackie spoke again.

"Concentrate, you know what you have to do. Let it flow… naturally."

I hadn't ever performed a spell before so I wasn't sure what to do. I'd seen movies about witches and wizards, in Harry Potter they had wands. I wished we had wands. That would have been a whole lot easier than this. "Focus on each other."

I tried to do as she directed. _Block out the trivial world around you and focus on each other._

Everything was extremely quiet. It was good that the initiation of the spell required focusing on her because she was all I could focus on. The parts of my skin that touched her skin itched. If I concentrated enough, I could hear her soft breathing. Our knees and the toes of our shoes were touching, too. Between us, something seemed to be glowing, the light flickered red and gold against my closed eyelids. Incense wafted around us.

Suddenly, my finger twitched and stroked the pulse point of her wrist, I could feel it. Her pulse. Underneath my finger. I started to stroke her skin again and she didn't seem to mind. I tried to keep my thoughts as zen-inducing as possible, but it was difficult.

I focused. I counted every breath; both mine and hears. Everything was so silent I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage, and I almost thought I could hear her heartbeat too. I focused on the way her skin felt and then tried to imagine what a floating rose would look like.

I opened my eyes when I felt something. Heat. And then a soft breeze.

My eyes flipped open and her's did too, at the same time. She gasped and I realized that something was happening. A bright light came to life on the circled star. At the same time a soft breeze sweeped through the room and the rose began to shudder. Slowly, it started to rise. When it was on shoulder-level, Jackie asked us to release our hands.

My hands were hot when I let go of hers. I rubbed them together and then stopped, realizing I was only generating more heat. _Should have paid better attention in Science class._

"It worked." Sydney muttered softly, looking slightly awed.

"Now for the hard part," Jackie's voice was calming, "The petals."

"I want the two of you to raise your left palms and place them against each other. Count the petals on the other hand, just for reference and better justification."

I glanced at the glowing red rose that was now slowly floating and rotating in the air in between us. It had five petals. We rested our left palms against each other and closed our eyes again. I focused once more on Sydney and tried to do as we were supposed to.

_Now_, a voice seemed to mutter in my mind. I took a deep breath and then put down one finger on my right hand_.One_. After a few seconds, I did the same thing for the second one as something in my head whispered '_now'. _I counted_. Two_. We went on doing this till we were done with the five petals. "Open your eyes," Jackie sounded delighted.

The hovering rose was now only a hovering stem. The rest of the petals had fallen to the ground. The spell had been successful.

I started to slow-clap, probably ruining the moment for them. "I am the Wizard of Oz," I mused, "Tremble before me!" Jackie smiled, Sydney simply kept staring at the hovering stem until it collapsed to the ground. "It's unnatural but it's so…" her voice trailed off. "Amazing?" Jackie offered, Sydney simply nodded, pretty much rendered speechless. I had to admit, it was neat.

"I don't want to pressure the two of you, and its getting quite late so we can continue tomorrow." Jackie muttered and we agreed. After wishing her good night we walked out of her apartment and headed towards the parking lot. Jackie had picked her up and taken her back to her apartment on the way there, so I was dropping Sydney back to Amberwood.

She wasn't talking as we walked towards my mustang. I didn't like awkward silences, and this one was particularly aggravating. "Jackie said that our minds had to be attuned with one another or whatever, right? So when we were plucking the petals off the rose, I thought I heard a voice in my mind. Was it you?" I asked her, the question had been bothering me ever since we'd finished the spell.

Sydney looked a little lost in thought and she wrapped her arms around herself, but that was probably because of the cold. It was strange, Palm Springs was like a giant meat locker, it seemed slightly improbable that the weather was so unruly all of a sudden. A cold wind breezed past us, as if challenging me to prove it wrong.

Yep. Definitely strange.

"Yeah, it was me…" Her voice was so faint, I wouldn't have caught it if it hadn't been so eminently quiet around here. "I didn't know magic could do that. I wonder if we could read each other's minds. Man, that'd be cool." I muttered, stealing her another glance. She glared at me, obviously not finding anything I say amusing at the moment.

She seemed disturbed, bothered. It was weird, we'd just successfully finished a spell that might help us in the long run. Her natural do-gooder instinct told me that she should be pleased. Instead she was being overly quaint and a little out of it. It's like she was physically present, here with me, but her mind was somewhere else. Normally, I'd just ask her what was bothering her, but I could tell that she really didn't want to talk right now.

Maybe what she needed was a shiny change of subject. I opened the door for her as we got to my mustang and then got into the driver's seat. Once we hit the road, I finally spoke up again. "Isn't it cold—For Palm Springs, I mean?"

Sydney was looking intently out the window while I posed my question, a few seconds later she turned to look at me. "Huh?"

"Nevermind."

"Yeah, the weather's strangely cooler than usual. Which is a good thing, I guess."

Now I was fairly certain I'd stepped into the Twilight Zone.

Sydney was an analyzer, if she saw a slight change in anything she would probably be going on and on about it by now, and I could have expected a detailed thesis on the weather change in the morning. Instead she was keeping to herself and being extremely recluse.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Sage?" I blabbed, hoping that she would catch my vibe and join us back here on planet earth. She blinked a little and then flashed me a half-hearted smile, "I'm here. Just… tired, that's all."

When we finally stopped at a signal, I got the chance to stare at her with my mouth wide open. "What?" She groaned, noticing. I shook my head and took a deep breath, "You used to be able to talk to me about everything, Sage. And now it's like we're not even friends. Your distance… just feels kinda insulting." I explained truthfully, feeling exactly like I'd described to her. Usually between banter and constantly keeping in touch with each other's lives, Sydney and I didn't ever run out of things to talk about and now it was like we were nothing but acquaintances. She must have realized as I started to drive again and the signal turned green, but she didn't respond to me, which pissed me off on an egoistic level.

I stopped the car abruptly on the side of the road. Her head yanked up to gawk at me, "What are you doing, Adrian? Why did you stop the car?" I began sifting through my pocket for my lighter and then opened the door, "Haven't you heard not to piss off the person who's currently driving and therefore responsible for your life?" I retorted, jumping out of the car and lighting a much needed cigarette. Sydney just glared back at me, "Adrian, please—don't start. Not here, not now. Just take me home or I'll get into the driver's seat and drive home myself."

I turned around after taking a swing and put a hand to my heart in mock disbelief, "Do you honestly think I am that stupid?" I dangled the car's keys in my left hand, right in front of her face, just to irritate her. She rolled her eyes and then trudged out of the car, too, banging the door in exasperation and not even caring. "Hey - your beef is with me. Don't take it out on the mustang." I muttered, patting my mustang as if consoling it.

Sydney's eyes threw daggers at me and if looks could kill…

She tapped her foot impatiently and glared on at me, crossing her arms over her chest.  
"What do you want, Adrian? A heart-to-heart? Because I'm not sure stopping the car in the middle of the road when I'm clearly exhausted is the best way to start!"

I took another long drag of my cigarette and frowned at her, "You haven't been acting like yourself lately and I know that it's because something is obviously bothering you. What is it? Let it out. I want to help. I mean—you seemed fine before the spell… Is that it? Did I do something wrong? Does it bother you that you managed to do something that would piss off your Alchemist pals back home if they ever found out? Are your primal do-gooder instincts conflicting with your goal in mind here?"

"Oh, so you are going to try to help me by throwing insults at me? That's very mature of you, Adrian." She roared, and I tossed my cigarette away, stamping on it and taking a step towards her. "No, I'm trying to do what's best for you!"

"Oh, and what makes you think that you know what's best for me?"

"I just do!"

"Wow, maybe you should open group therapy sessions! Share your talent with the world! Since you are so all-knowing, why don't you figure out what's wrong with me yourself!"

I groaned, running a hand through my hair. Sydney was really starting to get on my nerves now. I pressed my temples and looked around us to locate exactly where we were. Sydney wasn't stupid enough to try walking back to Amberwood becaue we were still a good thirty minutes away from there. I'd parked the car near a gas-station that seemed to be the only sign of civilization for the next couple miles—except for the occasional passerby car or truck.

The moon was a shining crescent in the otherwise cloud littered sky. The air was crisp and the night was cool, another thick breeze brushed past us, making the hairs on my arms stand on end. To one side of our car, there was a grass field, and the gas pump was on the other. There was no escape, so I grabbed Sydney by the arm and dragged her towards the field.

"Stop it! What are you doing?" She yelped as I sat down on the slightly moist grass on the field and ushered her to do the same. She scoffed, and shook her head, an incredulous smile appearing on her face.

"You are insane." She spoke like that was the answer for everything I ever did.

"I want to help you. Now, I know something's wrong, and until you don't tell me what it is, I'm just going to sit here. Amberwood's still briefly thirty minutes away, we are nowhere near actual civilisation and it's almost two in the morning. You've got no escape." I explained indignantly. She muttered something unpleasant under her breath but finally sighed in surrender and sat down next to me, brushing the grass and her pants to make sure she wouldn't get much 'dirt' on it.

"You are arrogant, unbelievable and really annoying. Do you know that?"

She asked, tilting her head towards me. I smiled, "I've been told."

"So are you ready to vent yet?"

"Fine," she groaned, and stared up at the sky for a whole other minute before speaking again, "You're right. The spell… it unnerved me. I'm not used to magic, even though I've already performed quite a bit of it. I just know that she's going to push us to experiment further and I'm all for it because it's for a good cause,"

I cocked my head to the side and played with a strand of her golden hair, twisting it around in my finger. She didn't seem to mind, "But?" I arched an eyebrow. She took another deep breath and exhaled, "But they drain too much out of me. I could feel a wave of nausea hit me as soon as we finished and this was only a _basic_ spell. Also… Spells like these, like the ones that Mrs. Terwilliger is talking about… well, I've read up on them. You have to rely on your partner, trust them, give your everything to them. Spells like these… they're intimate. In every sense of the word."

Okay, _that,_ I didn't know. I wasn't sure what to say, I stopped twirling. Sydney suddenly looked up at me, and touched my hand that was in her hair, but only briefly, "That's not to say that I don't trust you. I mean, if there's anyone in the world that I truly trust it's you. It's just that it's difficult for me, Adrian. Opening up in such a way… You joked about reading minds. Did you know that its possible? If I would have thought of anything other than counting those petals at that moment in the spell… You would have heard what I was thinking. That is what a test of synchronicity requires and it requires a lot of it. I have this feeling that the rest of the experimental spells that Mrs. Terwilliger is going to make us do are going to be similar."

I frowned and began to twirl her hair around my finger once more, "Don't do them, then. Jackie's not putting a gun to your head, Sage."

"I know that, but it would be so selfish of me not to! The whole world's on the line and—"

"The _whole world_ is not your responsibility and the _world _can wait."

Her eyes gleamed with something like pride and she smiled, her lashes dipping once more,  
"I wish it were that simple."

"It _is_ that simple! It doesn't matter what anyone says. I don't care if the sky turns orange and the world gets swept into oblivion, if you aren't comfortable with doing it, Jackie can find another lab rat." I was taken aback with the vehemence in my own voice.

Sydney looked equally alarmed. I didn't know what it was about this girl that brought something like that out of me, but just the thought of her putting herself on the line made anger surge through all my veins. I hadn't felt this kind of a temper before—not even towards Rose. There was a burning sensation in my gut that made its way up into my throat.

"Adrian," she mumbled, "Yeah?"

"You are the sweetest jerk I've ever met."

"Really? I'd like a certified statement for proof of this."

We were both quiet for the next few minutes. Sydney huddled a little closer to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. I held onto her with the same intensity. The night was getting colder, I almost wondered how many degrees it was. The sound of the crickets chirping, our breathing and the gentle breeze kept the night from being too noiseless. Despite how good it felt just holding on to her, I was about to suggest we head back to my mustang until she spoke again.

"My parents are getting divorced," She whispered dismally, and my head jerked up just a little.

"Another marriage bites the dust? Divorce is getting way too common in the world. Maybe the divorcees should all band together and start a convention." She chuckled softly and my grip around her tightened just slightly, "I'm sorry to hear that. Are you alright? Is that why you've been so upset?" She shook her head no, "I saw it coming from a mile away. I knew it was going to happen, I just didn't know when. It isn't even me I'm worried about, it's Zoe." I frowned, "Brat kid sister?" She nodded, "Zoe will be devastated and I know it. That's not all there is to it, my mom says that there might be a battle for custody. I don't want Zoe to end up with my father, she's already too much like him. I… I can't let her end up with him. He's a close-minded bigot who will turn her into his prodigy since I failed him on such an epic scale."

I reached out and stroked down the middle of her back, "You've got a strange definition of failed." I could feel her smile and relax into me a little, her breathing calmer now. I continued to stroke her back with my fingers. "You'll find a way, Sage. Don't forget that you managed to dodge the Alchemists more times than once over the summer. You beat a psycho witch, and you've got a dragon for a pet. You can handle anything."

"If I'm so super then why do I have a really bad feeling about what's about to come? I was so powerless in that dream…" Her voice trailed off, I grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at me, "You'll be fine. Do you understand me?" She sighed, "You promise?" Her eyes in that moment looked so full of hope and innocence that I felt like I was going to explode under her gaze. There were plenty of times when I was around Sydney that I felt like pinning her against the wall, crushing my mouth to hers and kissing her till the world ended but it wasn't usual for me to feel like I was going to spontaneously combust under her eyes.

"I promise," my voice was hoarse. We sat there for a few more minutes, we didn't talk, just hugged each other and watched the starless sky and the city lights from the distance. Finally, I felt the wind pick up some pace. I gave her back one last stroke and placed a kiss to her forehead, then I stood up and lent her a hand, "We should get going. You look like your about to turn into a popsicle." I said, she agreed and grabbed my hand.

Her hands were cold, so I rubbed them with my own, hoping to warm them up a little. She didn't say anything, but I could feel her looking at me, studying me. I didn't stop her. We walked back to my car and drove off, feeling like all the anguish from earlier had evaporated and transformed itself into pure desire.


	5. Out Of The Smoke, Into The Flame

**Chapter Five** \- Sydney

_This is the road to ruin _  
_ And we're starting at the end_

* * *

Out of the Smoke, Into The Flame

The smell of freshly ground coffee gave me life.

I'd finally done the one thing I'd been wanting to do eversince I returned to Palm Springs but hadn't had the time to do—Go to Spencer's. It was my favorite coffee shop in the vicinity and it was about time I'd paid the place a visit. I'd also been hoping to inadvertently catch an old friend, Trey Juarez. I hadn't spoken to him in ages, I didn't even get to bid him goodbye when I'd left the city two months ago. Plus, the new semester had rearranged our schedules, so we no longer got to share classes. Trey was one of my first friends here, and he was also really nice and easy to talk to. Unfortunately, things were a bit complicated, which was the new watchword in the life of Sydney Sage.

Trey had been born into a group of vampire hunters who called themselves the Warriors of Light, they were just a bunch of big-headed prejudiced people who thought they were doing the world a favor by ridding it of evil. They shared the same view as the Alchemists did of Moroi, Strigoi and Damphirs—which wasn't very ardent. Trey, though, wasn't working a shift when my turn in line finally came so I simply ordered my skinny vanilla latte and waited.

After fetching my drink, I took a seat on a table at the back and pulled out one of the books I'd borrowed from Mrs. Terwilliger. I knew that she didn't want me doing much research, but she didn't exactly set a barrier on her library. I was still me, and I was still very much intrigued by everything related to our upcoming issue.

I took a sip of my drink as I sifted through the pages and frowned when I got to a chapter that mentioned spirit. I couldn't stop worrying about what it was doing to Adrian, eversince I saw his nose bleeding and those horrific dreams—I was extremely afraid that something was going to happen to him. He seemed fine, and he hadn't mentioned anything to me, but that was just how he was. Which was unfair in retrospect, considering I usually poured my heart out to him about everything on my mind. I almost slipped up about the dreams too, last night.

An overly perky voice calling out to me hauled me out of my thoughts.

"Sydney!" It was Julia Cavendash and Kristen Sawyer, and they were walking towards me. I smiled instantly, I hadn't seen them in a long time. I'd missed them, I hadn't registered how much until I saw them again.

"Sydney, is that you?" Julia looked perfect as usual, her blonde hair was tied up in a stylish bun and she wore jeans and a cute crop top. Next to her, Kristen was clad in sweats and a tank-top. She had an athletic build and dusty skin. They grinned and waved as they came up to me. "Hey, guys," I said, standing up from my position before quickly tucking the grimoire back into the safety of my bag.

"God, Sydney! It's like you dropped off the face of the earth!" Julia mused, pulling me into a big bear hug. Kristen nodded, "Where have you been?" I sighed and asked them both to sit down, "It's a long story, but it's safe to say that I'm back now. Probably for good." I confirmed, Julia's grin widened, "That's great. We have so much to tell you!"

I just sat there with them for an hour and they talked on and on and I listened, trying my best to divert the conversation to a different topic everytime they questioned me about something relating to my 'disappearance'. Kristen tilted her head to the side, "How's the boy-toy, Sydney? What was his name again?" Julia narrowed her eyes in thought, "Was it Brandon?"

"Brayden. We broke up."

I received two very loud shrieks and one jaw drop after that.

They bombarded me with questions. "What happened?" "Why did you break-up?" "Was he not good in bed?" "Is there someone else?"

I rolled my eyes and finished the rest of my coffee in two big gulps. "We just didn't work out," I stated, deciding it was better if I didn't mention my dangerous… relationship? Acquaintance? Friendship? Alliance? Attachment? I didn't know whether I could put a label on what Adrian and I had, nevertheless, I didn't feel the need to tell them about it.

I gave them my best sad face, hoping it would put across the message that I didn't want to talk about it. In reality, though, Brayden and I had ended things on a decent note and there was almost no animosity there. I even heard he had a new girlfriend, and I was happy for him. Thankfully, they bought my oscar-worthy performance and dropped the subject after that. Julia and Kristen kept on blabbering, but soon, I was only half-listening to what they had to say. My eyes were on the television that was propped up across the room.

The weather man was talking about the possibility of snow.

I couldn't help but gape at the screen. The average temperature in Palm Springs, even during the winter was 72-75F. The place was practically a dessert. There's a possibility that it snowed on the mountains around the area, but never in the city. Julia caught me staring at the TV-screen and snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Are you even listening?"

I frowned and looked over at her, "I'm sorry… It's just… Has it ever snowed here?"

I already knew the answer to that was negative, but maybe I'd got my information wrong?  
Kristen laughed, "You do realize we live in hell fire conditions, right? No, it never snows in Palm Springs." I nodded, "I thought so, too." And then I pointed at the TV. Kristen turned around to take a look and seemed just as astonished as I felt.

Julia pursed her lip, "That is _so_ weird! Maybe it's a Global Warming thing,"

I didn't even bother to point out to her all the things that were wrong with that statement. Instead, I made a mental note to talk to Mrs. Terwilliger about the sudden climatic changes in the city and ask her if it was related to our current predicament.

After a few more minutes of talking, I decided it was time to take off, so I waved them goodbye and after promising them about a million times that I would call, I left the coffee shop. As I walked out, I felt a blast of cool air hit me instantly.

That's when I realized just how much the temperatures had seemed to drop overnight. I pulled out my phone to check the exact temperature and was astonished with the result.

I decided I better head to Mrs. Terwilliger and call on a meeting immediately. The thought of supernatural snow and magic-induced world wars seeping through my brain as I walked down the cold, narrow streets.

xxxxx

"So what do you think it'll be? A Maserati? Oh, maybe it's a Cadillac!" Adrian muttered as we walked towards Mrs. Terwilliger's house for the meeting that I'd called on. I'd gotten a call from the Alchemists today, and they told me that Latte's replacement would be delivered to me by tomorrow night, and I couldn't help but be excited about it.

"That would be amazing, but the Alchemists don't do glamorous cars - it attracts too much attention." I responded, hugging my arms around myself. I'd had to dig up some of my old coats and sweaters, and despite wearing a coat and a scarf, I hadn't packed for frozen conditions and decided I would have to go shopping later for better winter apparell. Adrian was wearing a red hoodie over his usual clothes and smelt like that amazing perfume as always. He hadn't applied much hair gel today, I noticed, so his hair looked naturally mushed. It only made him look more attractive in my opinion. More authentic, somehow.

"The Council of Alchemist Idiots have so much money on their hands, you'd think they could at least gift you a really nice car. They did practically pull you out of your life and put you on this mission, didn't they?" I nodded, it wasn't really all that far from the truth. I watched Adrian as we rounded a corner to Mrs. Terwilliger's new apartment. His eyes were a little unfocused, I frowned at him. "Did you sleep well last night?" Adrian stared down at the ground and kicked at a pebble, "I slept just as well as I do any night. Which by insomniac standards isn't all that good, I guess." His tone was earnest.

I shook my head and sighed, "I'm telling you it's spirit taking a toll on you, Adrian. Elemental magic is all kinds of messed up right now, I hope you'll be careful. It's not exactly like you're sustaining on good habits." His posture stiffened a little and he didn't respond for a long time, when he finally did, he turned to me and looked me in the eye, his eyes like green fire.

"_What_ does that mean?" He barked; I frowned, taking a step back. His expression turned into a louring glare, "You think you can taunt me? Always bossing people around like you're better than everyone else! Well wake up and smell the denial, Sage, you are _NO _better!"

His voice screeched like nails against a chalkboard and I winced. _What has gotten into him? Why does he look so mad all of a sudden?_ I played back everything I said to him and couldn't find a single thing that could have upset him to this extent.

"What are you frowning at, bitch? Don't pity me!" He exclaimed,

"Adrian—" I screamed as he grabbed me by the shoulders with animalistic force and slammed me against a barbed-wire fence nearby. The prickly spires poked at my back and I tried not to cringe in pain. He was utterly enraged, as if in a thrall.

His grip was so tight it ached. His face was merely inches away from my own and he was huffing like a bull. I held my ground, but felt my heartbeat stutter. He breathed in sharply and I raised my eyes to meet his but there was fear forming in my gut along with something else—butterflies? Really? I couldn't believe I was feeling butterflies at a time like this. Maybe they were brought forth everytime he touched me, I wasn't sure.

The green of his irises were nearly eclipsed by his pupils. His mouth was parted, and he was breathing irregularly. "I'm out of my mind! Damn it!" He cried out and I groaned, trying hard to calm my frantic nerves. I raised a hand to his face and touched his cheek gingerly, scared that he was going to do something that would hurt me. It was strange, Adrian wasn't like this, even when he was angry…This wasn't him. It was almost like he'd been possessed by an external force of some kind.

Suddenly, I felt his grip on my shoulders loosen and his eyes went blank for a minute. Instantly, his expression changed, conflicted; then, he came to realize what was happening and swallowed hard, just before dropping his hands and backing away from me.

I sighed in relief, rubbing my sore arms and then twisting my head to look back up at him, but he simply kept backing away and muttering things to himself that I couldn't comprehend. He held his head in his hands and stumbled, groaning. Suddenly I realized that whatever he'd been doing wasn't consciously to hurt me. I froze. Spirit's thrall. But it had never, ever been this bad before.

"Adrian…" My voice was calm, I approached him tentatively. "Adrian… It's okay…" Finally, he looked up at me, his eyes were full of terror. Adrian was afraid? That was just wrong. It wasn't the way of the world. He was one of the bravest people I knew, he had the ability to crack quips even in the most morbid of situations and right now he looked so… frightened and defeated.

I thought I heard him choke back a cough, "God, Sydney! I… I… I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened to me…"

"Adrian…Listen to me—"

"No!" He cried as I came closer, putting a hand in between us, as if to block me away. "Don't come closer. I don't want to hurt you." I sighed, feeling dread and worry make its way up to my chest. "I need to get away from you," he started.

"Adrian -"

"I… have to go. Take this meeting on w-without me, yeah? I'll see you later, Sage."

And then he was gone. He walked away as swiftly as he could, and finally dissapeared behind a corner. I could feel the bile rising in my throat as fear and worry mixed with sadness all etched for him hit me. Dejectedly, I finally turned around and began to continue to walk toward Mrs. Terwilliger's house. I took a quick breath, coughing.

I hadn't even realized I'd stopped breathing for a moment there.

xxxxx

"I want the ones with the red jelly. Strawberry, I think?" Angeline demanded.

Everyone was listing the donuts they wanted, and Neil was going to head off in a minute for a donut run. Both Jill and Angeline had offered to go with him, thankfully Mrs. Terwilliger had turned them down. It seemed like girls in the Neil fanclub kept multiplying like bed bugs.

The meeting itself hadn't exactly started yet, and I already felt my mind steering back towards what happened with Adrian back in the alleyway. I could still picture his face in my mind. So vulnerable, so afraid. It physically hurt to see spirit take him over in such a grand way. I was going to talk to Mrs. T about it after the others left.

"What do you want?" Neil asked, probably for the third time when I finally looked up at him and nodded no, "I'm good, thanks." Mrs. T frowned in my direction, lowering her glasses,  
"Eat something, Miss Melrose. I don't want you trying on all those ridiculous diet things. You must be thoroughly nourished in order to perform proper spells." I sighed, I didn't want to eat anything after my spectacle with Adrian; I felt like I would throw-up if I tried, but there was no arguing with Mrs. T right now. I sighed,

"Just get me anything, er, less sugary."

Neil nodded and scampered out.

I tried to ignore the looks on both Angeline and Jill's faces as he walked out. Eddie nudged me and I turned to look at him, I could tell he was still uncomfortable with all of this. None of my friends had been aware about my wicca activities before Adrian and I broke the news and while Jill and Angeline seemed to be taking it well, Eddie was still dubious and slightly unsettled with the whole thing. I couldn't say I blamed him. I remember the exact same look on my face my first time learning about all this, but I'd come to a depressing point in my life where none of these things affected me or surprised me that much anymore.

"You okay?" He asked and I plastered on a smile, hoping my earlier acting skills still proved useful. "I'm fine," I muttered, and he scrutinized me then nodded no. "No, you aren't... but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

I sighed. _It's not that I don't want to, it's just that if I will, I'll probably break down and cry._

"It's nothing important… And hey, I know you're still uncomfortable processing all of this, I know it's too much for a brain to take but I think you're doing a wonderful job." Eddie smiled,

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Sydney." I smiled back.

Suddenly, Jill walked over to us, instantly, I felt Eddie tense next to me. So he still had that crush he'd moped on about. I made a mental note to talk to him about that later. She looked a little concerned and her forehead crinkled a little as she frowned, "Where's Adrian?"

_To lie or not to lie?  
_  
"He said he had lots of incomplete projects to tackle so he couldn't make it today."

_Lie it is.  
_  
I knew how stupid that was of me, all Jill had to do was concentrate and using that pesky bond of hers, she could figure out I'm lying. Thankfully, she seemed to take my word for it, for now. "Oh," her expression was still slightly doubtful, but she shrugged it off. "Okay."

I needed to sit down. So I walked past Eddie and Jill, feeling like I'd just dodged a bullet and sat down on the couch next to two of the cats. Mrs. Terwilliger finally started the meeting.

"Miss Melrose, you had something to tell us all."

I nodded, it took some mental maneuvering to focus on anything besides what happened with Adrian but I managed it somehow anyway and began to explain how I felt like the temperatures had been dropping overnight and the predicted snow that could hit the city in a few days. Mrs. T looked a little unhinged but nodded her head like she'd seen this coming.  
"It is possible…That all this bending of magic is causing unfeasible climatic conditions,"

"I like snow. It's pretty. I've always wanted to build a snowman. Wait—How is this a bad thing, again?" Angeline pointed out from the other side of the room where she was standing.

"Its not normal for it to snow here," Jill explained, Angeline seemed to register this,

"So it's evil snow?"

Mrs. T took off her glasses and began to polish them for the fourth time in the last ten minutes, "It's unnatural," She said, putting her glasses back on. "It feels absurd, like everything is starting to tip out of balance."

"And that's bad, right?" Angeline asked.

She nodded, "Balance is everything. Not just in magic, but in nature. Hot and cold. Light and dark. Female and Male. Good and Evil. They're all just opposite sides of the same coin. Everything needs its opposite in order to keep the balance. Too much of one, however…"

"What happens if it keeps getting colder?" Eddie wondered, Mrs. T looked at him.

"Not good," she said, "Crops will fail. Animals that can't survive in these temperatures will die out. If it spreads…" Her voice trailed off once more.

"Not good," I repeated. We all stared out the window.

xxxxx

"So what was it that you wanted to talk about, dear?" Mrs. T asked, once everyone else had left. I stared at the empty box of donuts as I responded dryly, "Something happened to Adrian today…" Mrs. T tilted her head to the side, "Is this why he couldn't make it?"

I nodded yes. I could already feel a splitting headache coming on, and I had to rub my temples to numb the pain. Its not until Mrs. T put her hands over my own that I realized that I was trembling. "What happened?" Her voice was extremely soothing. I took a deep breath and finally explained everything that happened. She was quiet for a long time after I told her about it. "I see," she said, biting her lip. "I have a feeling that this rift that has come upon us is doing maximum damage to spirit users, since their talents are rare and they themselves are few and far between."

I stared down at my toes, "Is it normal? Or is he on the brink of insanity?"

Mrs. T sighed, "I won't lie, Miss Melrose. It—It's happened before. Adrian wouldn't be the first candidate to be caught up in spirit's thrall, but I, for one. don't think that its spirit alone that's causing this."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" There was more glass polishing.

"Adrian is a strong lad. He is not one to succumb to spirit so easily, and he was doing so very well just a few weeks ago. The temperatures suddenly changing, Adrian's behavior hitting its limit, this is all a pattern. Its cluing us in that its coming, whatever 'it' is."

I could feel my hands bawl into fists with anger at that. "Then we need to find this 'it' and put an end to it! I don't…I can't… Mrs. Terwilliger, Adrian… He was covered in blood in my dreams, and at certain instances he looked…" I couldn't stop the stammering.

I wanted to say the four letter word, it just wouldn't fall out of my mouth.

"Dead?"

There was no sign of compassion on Mrs. T's face, she looked like a scientist, curious about her latest experiment. Still, I was thankful that she understood what I was going to convey. Now the nausea seemed to be getting worse and I felt like something was playing a round of Kick-The-Sydney in my stomach.

Mrs. T's eyes widened all of a sudden, and she looked slightly upset. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier when you first mentioned the dream?"

"It didn't strike me as important."  
She flashed me a get-real look.

"Okay, I didn't tell you because… I wanted to avoid it. I wanted to pretend like it didn't happen. It was ridiculous, I know that now. I guess I just didn't want to face the truth. I'm sorry, Mrs. Terwilliger."

She shook her head, "I just hope we are able to help your friend in time,"

"In time for what?"

"I don't know."

xxxxx

That night, sleeping was proving to be extremely difficult.

I'd thought a couple of times to go check on Adrian, but had ended up chickening out. I groaned, tossing and turning in bed and trying to get some sleep. It didn't work. I sighed, checking my alarm clock for the time, it was almost three in the morning. I sighed again, I tried my best to get eight hours of sleep every night, but it was starting to become practically impossible.

Also, it was cold. Very cold. I felt like my feet were numb and everytime I put them to the floor, it was like I was stepping on an ice berg. Even the windows were fogged up. Snow didn't look as implausible as it had a couple hours ago.

At least I had my own dorm room now, I loved Jill, but I had to admit it was quite nice not having to worry about waking her up in the middle of the night. I sat up in bed and turned on the light on my nightstand, finally opting to sift through the last few chapters I had remaining on that book I was going through. It had quite some important stuff about elemental magic and its side-effects, things that I doubted Mrs. T was planning to educate me on anytime soon. There was a sequel book to the one I was reading, too, which had information on some of the greatest magic wielding Moroi in the last couple hundred centuries. It was all just so interesting to absorb.

I wondered if Mrs. T was holding a secret grudge on me for leaving Palm Springs, I mean she did seem a little upset about it the first time we spoke since I was back, so I wouldn't put it past her. I mean she knew how much I love to read and learn new things, but of course she had to push me towards spells.

_Maybe she can hold hands with Adrian and see how she likes it.  
_  
I frowned at the thought, realizing how petulant I sounded. I knew that it made sense for me to be the one casting the spells, and it wasn't like I hadn't offered. It was just the fact that all the intimate spellwork with Adrian was stirring up lingering feelings, transporting me back to simpler times with him... The first time we'd met - how agitated I'd been, the two of us in a darkened candlelit room gazing into each other's eyes, finding something to hold on to in the dead of the night, the wonderful first kiss that had left my head spinning and my knees buckling and...

_SNAP OUT OF IT._

Adrian.

And then there was Adrian himself… God, maybe the reason I wasn't getting any sleep was because of my last encounter with him. I couldn't get him out of my head. I wasn't mad at him, not really, more like exhausted and worried sick. Whoever was doing all this, they had it out for spirit wielders. If today's events and my so called 'prophetic' dreams were any indication, then Adrian was the new punching bag in a grand scheme of madness.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed and I frowned. I wasn't exactly used to text messages in the middle of the night. My heart skipped a few beats when I saw who the message was from.  
Adrian. My fingers lingered over the touchpad for a long time before I finally had the courage to open his message and see what he wanted to say.

Sorry for running out on you, Sage. Sorry for the other thing too. I'm ashamed.

I groaned, I couldn't believe that he thought that it was his fault, and I wasn't quite sure why he was sitting up awake in the middle of the night and texting me. It just got me feeling a dozen times more distraught. I began to type back.

It was NOT your fault, Adrian.

He replied almost instantly.

The words came out of my mouth. My hands pinned you against that wall. Ergo, Sage, it is very much MY fault.

A minute later, before I'd even finished typing a response, another message popped in.

Why are you up so late ?

I scoffed at the second message and didn't like the first one. I wasn't going to accept it, and I could be stubborn when I wanted to be,

Don't be ridiculous. You were under Spirit's thrall. Even spoke to Mrs. T, she agrees. And I couldn't sleep.

He replied: Go to sleep, it's late.

I replied: Instead of telling me what to do, why don't you take your own advice and do the same?

When I finally felt like my fingers were going to start aching, I just threw caution away and decided to give him a call. He picked up after the first two rings.

"Sage, you slay me with your harsh words." He muttered, in obvious reference to the last message I sent him. I couldn't help but notice his words slurred just a little bit. It wouldn't even have been distinguishable to someone who didn't hear him talk all the time. I, on the other hand, was well versed with Adrian's speech patterns.

"You've been drinking," my voice was indignant, and he reciprocated with a sound that was half a sigh of frustration, and half a cough. "Keen observation." He muttered dryly. I almost wished that he was right here in front of me so that I could slap him across the face. My blood boiled, "You promised before I left that you would reduce your intake." He was quiet for a moment,

"That promise was rendered meaningless the second you left, Sage. The promise was only applicable if you were around to make sure that I was reducing my alcohol."

I groaned. I was sick and tired of him trailing back to that same, overused excuse. I already hated myself for leaving him, but he didn't have to keep throwing it in my face all the time. Not to mention he kept using it to squirm his way out of everything these days.

"Oh, please." Adrian took a deep breath that sounded a lot like static over the phone.

"It numbs the spirit. We wouldn't want me to be turning into the Great Hulk anytime soon."

I agreed to that, but I thought that there were better ways.

I laid down on my mattress, wrapping the blankets tighter around me, feeling the need of the comfort. "We… We can find other ways for that. Maybe it was just a one-time thing? I—I'm sure it won't happen again!" I mentally groaned at my response, I didn't sound the least bit convincing. It seemed like Adrian was telepathic, now, because he read right between the lines. "Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?"

"I don't know," my voice was brittle, "The both of us."

"It'll be alright. Super Sydney Sage will figure it out. And if you don't, you've always got your coven sisters. So tell me, how was the meeting? Was it dull and boring without my solicitous presence?"

I wasn't sure whether I was more bothered by Adrian's implication that I now possessed 'coven sisters' of my own, or the fact that he just used the word 'solicitous' in a sentence.

Yep, he was certainly drunk.

I sighed, staring at my phone and his display picture that surrounded the screen. The picture was of sometime last year, it was of the two of us. Adrian had this big toothy grin plastered on his face and his green eyes shined roguishly, like they held all of the world's secrets. He had one arm loosely around me, I felt like I looked a little dull sitting right next to him. He always looked so energetic and full of life.

Not to mention that he was clad in a bright blue t-shirt and I was wearing a dull slade-grey.

I sighed, thinking back upon last year when our biggest problems were a life-sucking witch on the loose and a bunch of tweed-clad Alchemists.

"It was alright. We discussed the weather changes, Mrs. Terwilliger thinks its our anonymous magic-dweller who's trying to upset the balance of things."

"What the hell can disrupt the freaking balance of nature?"

"That's what we don't know,"

Adrian snorted a little on the other end of the line, "New year, new life-threatening enemy."

I laughed just a little, "Fun, isn't it?" Adrian laughed too, "Very. You can't see me but I'm gesturing emphatically." I smiled, "Go to sleep, Adrian. You don't know what you're talking about."

"But I like having late night conversations with you."

I sighed. I didn't know what it was with him, he always managed to divert my mind from the actual issue at hand, and he was getting better at it. I liked talking to him too, I'd missed it so much that whenever I heard his voice I felt like tons of butterflies were gathering in my stomach. Giant, mutant butterflies that weighed a ton or three.

"And I like talking to you." He added, reading my mind.

"We have lots to do tomorrow. Top of the list is to find out what's going wrong with spirit and why it's sending your mind into a frenzy. Unfortunately, I feel like you'll be too hungover to process anything."

"Hangovers are the least of my problems." He sounded serious. I wanted to make him feel better, but I wasn't sure what to say. His problems were pretty drastic, there wasn't much in the way of sympathetic positive vibes. So I said whatever came to my mind.

"We'll deal. Just like we always do. We'll… take care of each other, right?"

"Oh, Sydney," he responded, whenever he used my full name I felt like my nerves were getting shock-therapy, I liked the way it rolled off his tongue, like he didn't want to miss one syllable. "I love it when you talk friendly to me."

I wasn't sure whether that was a taunt or just a joke but I suppressed another chuckle.

"Goodnight, Adrian."

"Goodnight, Sage. Dream of unicorns and love and Adrian Ivashkov sweeping you off your feet and into the sunset."

xxxxx

"De Fumo In Flammam," Mrs. T muttered.

We were all assembled for another meeting that she had called upon, Adrian included. Mrs. Terwilliger looked even more frantic than usual, and that was never a good thing.

"Is that a tongue-twister?" Jill asked, frowning slightly.

But I already knew what it meant. I could already feel an uneasy nausea settling in my gut.

"Out of the smoke, into the flame." I translated, and Mrs. T flashed me a quick nod.

"It's a Latin quote, if I'm not mistaken." I explained, and Jill nodded. Angeline tilted her head,

"So what does it mean? Is there going to be a fire?"

Mrs. T sighed and polished her glasses. It had become a ritual now. She swiveled her head back up to look at us, "Simply put, trouble is brewing. I—I called upon this meeting to request you all to hold the fort while I attend to some business. Its related to our current predicament, I assure you. Two of my friends from the coven and I are going to go seek out one of the most well-known magic dwellers of our time. She comes from a legendary coven, one that dates back years. We believe she has some of the information that we are looking for. She is in New York City, so we will be taking a quick four-day trip."

Everyone, including me, stared at her with our jaws hanging open. Adrian was first to recover from the initial shock, "You really want to leave the fate of the world on a bunch of teenagers?" Mrs. T dismissed the comment with a hand gesture and began to search her messy table that was now piled with files, folders, cat toys and empty foam coffee cups. "I don't have much of a choice, Mr. Ivashkov," she blabbered, finally finding what she was looking for.

She pulled out the sheet of paper and held it up for us all to see, "I have written down everyone's specific tasks that covers the four days that you must encounter in my absence. Adrian, Sydney, there are two spells you must experiment in this span of time. Any supplies that you will need will be available in my house. I've written down certain books and internet websites for the rest of you to research and highlight in time for when I am back. You may approach me on my cellphone if you need any guidance."

"Great," Angeline said, "More homework. Like we don't get enough at school."

I shook my head. I still couldn't believe that she was abandoning us and stocking us up with a bunch of chores to do. "Am I clear?" She raised an eyebrow. Eddie, who was standing besides me, nodded. "I'm in." Jill and Adrian followed suit. Angeline didn't look as enthused, and nor was I, for that matter.

"Oh, Miss Melrose. What is it now?" She groaned, looking agitated; like I was an annoying child asking for too much candy. I sighed, I would handle this with respect and with a rational head.

"It's just… We need you, Mrs. Terwilliger. I… You can't expect me to perform those spells alone. I've never done it without at least some supervising from you."

Mrs. Terwilliger pushed her glasses up and squinted at me,  
"You won't be alone. You have Adrian."

"Adrian's not a witch!"

"_So_ not." Adrian agreed.

Mrs. Terwilliger sighed, "Miss Melrose, I cannot coddle you forever. You will only be able to learn if you try this by yourself. Think of all the good that will come of it. Now, here," she handed me the sheet of paper, then turned to Angeline, "You can divide your research work with Neil. How does that sound?"

Angeline's eyes lighted up like two giant lightbulbs. "Sounds good!" I huffed. She did not just play the Neil card! Jill's expression was equally strained and she flashed me a look like, _Can you believe this woman?  
_  
I smiled back at her, but my smile was stale. I still couldn't believe Mrs. T was abandoning us, well sort of. She patted me on the back, "You'll all do just fine. I promise to be back soon."

We all started to get up, but she stopped us. "There's one more thing, I was doing some research, and I came a bit closer to understanding the nature of who we are dealing with."

All pairs of eyes and ears were now on Mrs. T.

"Whoever we are dealing with has heavy knowledge on a lot of aspects of the world of magic that are unknown to most witches in our generation. Whoever this is, the roots trail back almost a hundred years. They're dwelling in ancient powers, some of them that lead back into the time of vikings and warlocks. The kind of powers that it takes to create such disruptions are momentous, which means that we are going to be faced with something very old and dark."

Everyone went dead silent. Neil spoke up gingerly, a minute later.

"What's… What's the good news?"

"The good news," Mrs. T said, "Is that we have a witch powerful enough to beat this thing. With some help, of course."

"Who is that?" Jill muttered, obviously oblivious to what Mrs. T was going to say. A lump began to form in my throat as she continued,

"Miss Melrose, of course."

That did it. The world started spinning. My head started to hurt and I could feel the bile rising in my throat again.

Into the flame indeed.


	6. You've Dug Your Own Grave, Now Lie In It

**A/N: Guys, I would really appreciate some reviews. If I don't get any feedback I really won't be as motivated to continue posting this story...**

* * *

**Chapter Six** \- Adrian

_Don't wanna let you down,_  
_But I am ... hell bound_

* * *

You've Dug Your Own Grave, Now Lie In It

I woke up to darkness.

Literally, the room was so pitch dark that I couldn't make out the silhouettes of the furniture. I couldn't even see the edge of my own bed. It was like being blind. The room was cold, even more so than it had been a few hours ago when I went to bed. The temperature must've dropped while I was asleep.

I spread out on the bed, fanning my arms to try and locate my phone or the alarm clock on the nightstand. It didn't work.

Alright, scary.

I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes a little, they should have adjusted to the darkness by now. Suddenly, there were footsteps. The sound was faint so if it hadn't been this utterly silent, I wouldn't have been able to tell. The footsteps were approaching towards me.

I frowned. Who would be at my apartment this late? I sighed and spoke up, "If you're going to trample into my humble abode in the middle of the night like an axe-murderer. The least you can do is bring a flashlight."

There was a hissing, kind of like a snicker. It sounded almost inhuman, but I could tell it belonged to a girl. Slowly, a silhouette of a woman came closer and parked itself right above me, at the edge of my bed. I tried to keep my voice from shaking, "I'm serious. Who are you? I'm not really in the mood to play hide-and-seek."

There was another chuckle. It sounded malicious and poisoned, like the sound of a hyena laughing. I was really starting to hate this bitch, even if I didn't know who she was. I could rule out Jailbait and Sage easily, they weren't allowed off-campus at these hours and their voices didn't sound like the glass-shattering screams of a dozen dying children.

Finally, it—her, _whatever_, spoke up.

"You're the prettiest one yet." She hissed.

I wasn't sure if this was a joke or if I was suddenly part of the reality show that played pranks on unsuspecting idiots like me. Were there hidden cameras in my room? Was Ashton Kutcher gonna jump out at me from the shadows and scream, _"You have been punk'd!"_  
Unfortunately, I assumed not.

"What?" I questioned, feeling a little unnerved now. The girl's outline was the only thing I could make out in the utter blackness, "Hey, if we're going to be complimenting each other, maybe you should turn on the lights so that I could see you?" I offered.

An amused cackle was my mystery girl's only response.

"Even juicier than the last one. Pretty blonde with the sharp tongue… No wonder you two get along."

I didn't know whether it was just the tone of her voice or the way she was talking about my friend, but suddenly, there were chills running up and down my spine. And I knew who she was talking about.

"Lissa?" I asked gingerly, and the mystery girl's outline shifted a little, I assumed she was nodding. "Very good. Smart _and_ pretty… I could use you."

_Whoever it was, they were targeting Spirit users…  
_  
"What did you do to her?" I gritted my teeth, and she laughed again. I could feel her coming closer, and suddenly a nail as sharp as the edge of a knife started to trail up my torso. I shivered. I still couldn't see the bitch's face, but I knew that she was smiling.

"You must cooperate with me. Your powers are very, very special to me you see…" she rasped, her nail was now digging into my chest, right above my heart. I had to bite my lip really hard to keep myself from screaming in pain. "They're the most unique in the mix," she yammered on, her nail now twisting its way through my cotton shirt. I cringed, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to concentrate on her words, rather than the blinding pain.

"Wha—What do you want!?" I managed to say. She laughed again. Even the sound of her laugh hurt. It sounded like a dozen nails screeching across an endless chalkboard. I winced again. "I thought it was obvious, pretty boy." I groaned and huffed, before wrapping my palm around her thin, cold wrist and gripping it hard. "Stop!"

Somehow, she was stronger than I was. She yanked my hand off of her own quite easily, the contact left my skin burning—and not in a good way. I felt like I'd just touched a bunch of prickly spikes. "You have no idea who you are, what you're capable of. Nor does she. It'll make playing with you so much… fun." She whispered cheerfully, still digging her nail into my chest. She'd torn some of the shirt, and I could feel the blood gushing out now, but I was powerless against her.

I wanted to find out who she was, now I knew that I couldn't see her face, but I still had a trick up my sleeve. I guess spirit isn't all that bad after all. I turned my head to face exactly where I assumed she was standing and began to focus, squeezing my eyes a little and willing her aura to present itself to me. It worked.

Slowly, a grey mist began to form around her shadow. I frowned, most people had purple or golden auras, the colors usually depended on the skills and personalities they possessed. Sydney's was bright and colourful, with tons of both purple and hints of gold. This was a stark opposite of that. Her aura was infused with darkness, it clung to her aura like it was eradicating her life force. There were strong specs of grey and muddled orange, proving that she may have been a human with a normal aura at one time, but now it was polluted.

Surrounded by darkness. Swallowed by it.

I'd never seen anything like it before.

She hissed, she knew. A cold hand reached out and grabbed my chin, I shivered. "Naughty boy!" She crooned, "Trying to peek into my being. Don't you know, its not polite to put your nose where it doesn't belong?" After which she yanked at my nose so hard I was sure it was going to freeze and fall off of my face.

_She._ I had this feeling that she was talking about Sydney, and alarm bells began to sound off in my head. I forgot all about her freaky aura and willed it to dissolve. Pointless, since I was suddenly frozen in place, unable to move any part of my body but my head. "I'm here to warn you…" her voice trailed off as her other hand ran through my hair. I felt like someone was pouring hot liquidized metal on my head and again, I wanted to scream. "Don't mess with powers that are beyond you… I can give you the option to come with me. You would be useful, entertaining. I could give you whatever you wanted. May even let you keep your pesky powers." She went on.

I growled at her, "S-Stay… away!" She laughed again, this time it echoed throughout the deserted room and probably even bounced off the city streets. "Is that a no?"

I spat in her face.

Just to let her know that she was revolting and that I'd never do anything she told me to.  
She wasn't pleased. She hissed, snapping her head back as if she'd been slapped. I still couldn't see her face, but I could make out enough to tell that I'd upset her. "Very well then. You bring this upon yourself… You're digging your own grave," She sounded like a rattle snake, muttering those things over and over again. Her voice was so shrill I wanted to tear my ears off. My chest hurt like hell and I thought I was going to die. She pinched my chest one last time before digging her nail out,

"Don't tell me that I didn't warn you, pretty boy."

xxxxx

There were snowflakes.

There were snowflakes on my window pane. It was snowing in Palm Springs. I was pretty sure now that it was the end of days. The reminder I'd gotten in my nightmare just proved it.

I woke up sweating, wheezing and terrified. When I'd finally calmed my nerves and realized that it was a dream I instantly called up Lissa. It was five in the morning but I had to know if she was alright. The dream had felt vivid, like it had really happened. Quickly, I'd looked down at my chest. I hadn't taken the dreamland wounds into the real world apparently, because there was no blood and my shirt wasn't even ripped.

Lissa had picked up almost instantly, she assured me that she was okay but proclaimed that she had a similar dream. She wouldn't reveal what the invisible bitch told her, but she said that something was coming. I didn't disagree.

After taking the hottest and longest shower of my life, I got ready; changing into jeans, a black shirt and pulling on a grey hoddie to keep from frostbite. After setting my hair and applying some perfume, I walked over to the window and gawked out at the now caked white vicinity of Palm Springs. The place was practically known as a summer destination, I was pretty sure I'd been sweating out of my ears three days ago and now… there were snowflakes. It was snowing. It was unnatural.

I still remembered the entire encounter in my head and set it to replay mode as I walked out of the house to stop by at Sydney's before I headed to college, just to make sure that she was alright. Chilled to the bone wasn't just an expression anymore, I guess.

It was really, really cold. I had to keep rubbing my palms repeatedly to retain body heat. It had probably been snowing for the past few hours because the streets were covered in a thin yet slippery layer of ice. The neighborhood that I currently lived in was practically a ghost town except for the occasional car or truck. There weren't any blissful morning joggers, or Mrs. Jordan and her yoga squad working out in her front yard, there were no dog-walkers or ice-cream trucks. The few birds that were brave enough to come out in this new weather chirped quietly but remained hidden in the trees.

Unnatural was what it was.

I picked up the pace as I headed towards my yellow mustang and got in. Thank the lord for car heaters, I turned mine on almost instantly. It was insane, people that lived in Palm Springs weren't used to this kind of weather. I noticed one of the people in the house opposite to where I'd parked my car, trying to scrape ice off his doorstep with the opposite side of his lawn mower. I sighed as I started the ignition and drove towards her house, trying to ignore the sense of serious dread that was creeping its way up my spine.

xxxxx

"Morning Sunshine! Looks like Jack Frost paid us a visit," I joked as I walked into Sydney's dorm room. She was clad in a cyan bathrobe when she opened the door and her hair were dripping wet. I tried to steer my mind away from the thoughts of a naked Sydney standing just a few inches away from me.

She looked distraught and a little upset as she trudged back towards the bathroom, I think she wanted to yell at me for showing up while she was still 'indecent' but only managed to mutter, "So cold! So cold!" repeatedly as she traipsed her way back and shut the bathroom door with an echoing thud. Despite all the colourful thoughts and ideas that I had when it came to something like that, I was polite enough to take a seat on the edge of the bed and wait for her.

I had distracting thoughts of my own, ones of the non-Sydney variety. I had this phantom burn on the parts of my skin that the Invisible Goddess from Hell had touched and the dream was still fresh in my mind.

_Don't tell me that I didn't warn you._

That was the million dollar question, wasn't it? What was she warning me about? What exchange did she have with Lissa? What exactly is it that she wants from us? I didn't want to tell Sydney about my dream because knowing her, she'd worry for no reason. And I had absolutely zero intentions of adding yet another problem on her leaning tower of issues that are still to be resolved. On the other hand, it would be kind of unfair on my part if I didn't share some of the newfound information I had on whoever was trying to do all this. I knew now that it was obviously a female, and she did drop a few other hints… Sydney's brain could probably make the connections that I couldn't.

She finally came out, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved informal t-shirt. "I had to borrow a few clothes from my friend Kristen," she muttered, "Don't ask." I raised my hands up in surrender and then flashed her a cocky smirk, "I'm not complaining, it suits you." I was about to add that everything suits her, but I kept my mouth shut.

She sighed as she plopped down on the bed a little away from me. "I still need more winter wear—" I cut her off, "I've got a few hoodies and stuff at home. Luckily I'm a heavy-packer, I can get you some." She fixed me with an incredulous look. "What? You aren't trying to make a fashion statement, this is about keeping you all bundled up for the harsh winter, right?"

She nodded and then tilted her head to the side, quizzically. I couldn't help but admire how naturally beautiful she was. Her wet hair had been left to their imperfections as they fell recklessly down her shoulders, she had absolutely no make-up on and her pouty lips were still slightly wet from the shower. I wanted to kiss them. I wanted to pull her into my arms and hold her. I wanted to swim in those amber eyes for the rest of my life. But of course, all of that was currently like trying to fit a square-shaped plate into a round hole. Impossible.

"Why are you here?" She asked, getting straight to the point. "I would say its because I can't stop thinking about you and that now I'm here to serenade you with my fancy guitar and a bottle of the world's finest wine but you wouldn't like that, so I'll give you something a little easier for your smart brain to swallow. I think I know who's behind our freak snowstorm."

As expected, that drew her attention. She perked up instantly, biting her lower lip and her eyes scanning my face as if trying to make sure I didn't have the answers painted across my forehead in invisible ink. I could practically hear the wheels turning in that special brain of hers. "That's amazing, Adrian! How… What happened? Tell me everything."

"I intend to," and so I told her about my dream that wasn't so much a dream, the invisible lady and mentioned some of the things that she told me. I spared her the gory details that included her digging her nails into my chest and trying to claw my heart out.

I expected Sydney to jump to a bunch of conclusions and start calculating stuff the instant I told her, instead, she looked aghast. For a few seconds, she didn't even speak. She just stared at me with a strange look on her face. When she finally spoke, I wasn't sure if she sounded concerned or murderous, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

I frowned, "I told you at nine in the morning. Nine in the morning, Sage. That's like the middle of the night for me on most days. So, I think that covers the 'soon' part." She sighed, pressing her fingers to her forehead, looking slightly frantic. Then she stood up and paced the length of the compact dorm room. "I can't believe this. God—Are you okay?"

I'll admit I was a little taken aback when she turned around and met my eyes. Her eyes were so full of compassion and anxiousness. I didn't want her feeling that way over me, but I'll be honest it did make me feel a little better, knowing that she cared. "Right as rain, Sage." I muttered. She sighed in relief and sat back down, looking up at me with that intense look in her amber eyes. I was about to start counting the gold flecks in her eyes when she raised her hand and ran it through my hair. She used to do that sometimes, but that was before she took off for Mexico. I tried not to lose my mind over the contact as she pulled back, probably registering what she'd just done.

She turned away just a little, "I know that this is a great lead. I just… I worry, Adrian. About you. I feel like there's something that you're not telling me. And… I think that's unfair, considering I tell you everything that goes on in my mind."

She doesn't have to know, I could feed her the rubbish that I wasn't mentioning some details because it was for her own good, but even I knew that sounded simply like an overused and lame excuse. I sighed, "She's after spirit users. She didn't mention why. All I know is that she visited Lissa, too, and made it pretty clear that she's the one behind all of this."

Sydney nodded, frowning and tilting her head a little, "It's almost like she wants us to know."  
I thought about that, thinking back to when I'd managed to peer at her aura. I bit my lip,  
"I don't know about that. I… I got a look at her aura, I was hoping to find out what she was. And the results weren't exactly satisfying," She crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes went wide. "So," she went on, "What did you see?"

"I… I don't think she's human, Sage."

Sydney's jaw dropped, I would have taken glory in being able to see what a completely floored Sydney looked like, but my mind was elsewhere. "It was etched with darkness. The color was unusual, grey and dirty orange. It looked like that darkness had sucked most of her life force out of her. It was spooky, really. I spoke to Liss about it on the phone, she confirmed it as an anomaly. Sonya's gonna call me later today, I hope she's got some answers because I'm coming up with absolutely nothing." Sydney sighed, "That doesn't sound so good. I'll speak to Mrs. Terwilliger about it, I have got to call her. Ugh. She had to pick the worst time to schedule that New York trip, hadn't she?"

I rolled my eyes and firmly put my hands on her shoulders, her eyes shot up to meet mine.  
"So? We don't need Jackie. We can handle this, remember? And Sage, I don't want you worrying about me, you've got enough on your plate already. I've gotta head for college, but I'll come see you and Jailbait at Amberwood later. Lunch time sound good?"

She smiled and gave me a small nod, "Okay. Take care." I stood up to leave, then quickly turned around. "Oh, when do you want to whip out the flying broomsticks and the magic carpet?" I asked, she knitted her eyebrows together, confused. "I don't get that reference."  
A smile tugged at my lips, "The spells that Jackie wanted us to try out. When do you want to give them a spin?" At this, her entire posture wavered and she went rigid.

I wet my lip a little and tilted my head at her, "I don't know where you're from but on earth we respond when a fellow life form questions us about something. It's known as conversation, Sage? You alive in there?" I snapped my fingers in her face. She pulled herself out of the trance and looked up at me, "Huh? Yeah. We'll do it soon. You should go. The weather's getting worse and I've got to get ready."

I nodded sheepishly, taking a step back before turning around and heading out the door. Noticing, but deciding not to comment on her stranger than usual behavior.

"Women," I muttered restlessly, "A universal mystery yet unsolved."

xxxxx

I was getting a little tired of being the miracle healer.

Spirit: A boon or a curse: A detailed thesis written by Adrian Ivashkov. The answer itself wasn't very clear. It all started when I found the dying girl. Well, she wasn't dead, but I was pretty sure she was close to it. I could practically feel the Grim Reaper staring at me with animosity as I revived her.

Amberwood was a mess. After I attended my regular college class, I headed straight there, finding it a little inconvenient to drive the way I pleased on frosty streets. I wasn't the only one, apparently. When I got to Amberwood, there was a huge crowd surrounding the front lawn, where most students liked to hang out after rough classes.

The snow had apparently gotten to someone, because there had been an accident. After parking my car, I sauntered over to check out what the commotion was all about. I pushed past a few high school kids to get a better look. There was a big brown truck practically slammed into a small red Mercedes. The front of the truck was crunched up and the Mercedes was minutes away from toppling over, somehow managing to balance on it's side. People around me were gasping and crying and pointing, but nobody bothered to check if someone had been injured by the crash.

I tapped the shoulder of the guy with the shaggy hair who looked on besides me, "What's this about?" I asked, and he shrugged, "Some bastard slammed head on into the poor girl's car, think he did it on purpose." I frowned, "Where are they now?"

"They're both probably pancakes by now but we'd called the paramedics and the ambulance. They should be here soon." I had to stop myself from punching the asshole right in his overly large face. "They could still be alive, you idiot!"

I pushed past a few more people and ran towards the crushed vehicles. I crouched down and peeped through the window of the truck, a driver, probably in his mid-forties sat with his arms and head on the steering-wheel. His arms hung loose and lifeless and his forehead was bleeding, also I was pretty sure he was dead. A dismal feeling creeped inside me as I ran over to check the car and see if the girl was having better luck. Some of the students behind me were muttering things and cheering, but I didn't pay them any attention.

I worked quickly, the car had been flipped sideways and the girl was still inside. I opened the lock of the door since the glass from the window was already shattered; and yanked it open. Then I crawled through and tried to reach the girl, her eyes were open but I could tell that she didn't have much time. She was ghastly pale and had a ruptured wiper sticking out of her torso and her neck was twisted at a grotesque angle, her eyes were filled with terror.

When they met my own, she managed to squeak, "H… Help!"

There were shards of glass and other pieces of debris all around me, but I managed to reach the girl, "Shh," I told her, trying to pull her out. "You're going to be okay." She whimpered, breathing heavily, "Leg…s-st..stuck…in the…" I looked up to see what she was talking about. Her right leg was stuck through something. Suddenly, the entire car shook, I'd managed to drain out most of the sounds coming from outside; but I could tell that people were screaming. The car was going to topple over and we were still stuck inside. "It's okay," I repeated, unsure of which one of us I was reassuring.

She was still panting, and I could tell that she only had a few minutes left. _Think, Adrian, think. What would Sydney do?_ My mind managed to draw a blank and I wanted to scream in anguish. All I knew was that I had to save this girl. So I turned over to look at her foot again, if she had been in a better condition, she could have easily hauled her foot out. I would have done it myself but if I ventured deeper into the wreckage then I was pretty sure the car would quiver and I'd have gotten us both killed.

This was _not _the way I was going to go out.

Determined now, an idea popped into my head. _If she was in a better condition_… Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. Yes, I knew all the costs of excess spirit use. Sydney had warned me repeatedly that continued spirit use would harm my mind. To do what I was about to, I wouldn't just be using spirit, I'd be drowning in it. It didn't matter, though. This…This was life or death. How could I not save this girl when I had the chance to? I racked my brain for any other options, but the truth was that there were none. She wouldn't make it in time. Unless I helped her. And I had the power - I could save her life.

I put my hand on the girl's forehead and began to concentrate. _Come on, you can do this_. I kept muttering soothing words to her while doing it. I pictured the girl at full health, I closed my eyes and willed our bodies to make the connection. I could take her pain away. At first, nothing happened, and when I opened my eyes, she was still impaled, bruised and bloody. Then I tried one more time, putting even more focus and force into it. I could do this. I could save her life, I'd done it before. This girl wasn't even dead yet, which meant that I wouldn't have to worry about being bonded with a complete stranger. I could do this. She was okay, she wasn't hurt, she would survive.

When I opened my eyes again, her neck wound had already healed, a few scary seconds later, the rest of her was cured too. The wiper rolled off her now perfectly restored torso. She pulled her leg out with ease then turned to stare at me with big, blue eyes. "You… just…"  
her voice trailed off, "How did you—" I cut her off, putting my palm over her mouth.

I could already feel the after-effects of the magic beginning to take its toll on me, but I had to do one last thing. I looked back into her eyes and said, "You were lucky. You didn't get hurt. It's a miracle. I helped pull you out of the vehicle, that's all you know." For a second, she seemed a little unsure, her mouth curving a little in a lour, then she shook it off and her eyes were filled with wonder. "Gosh, you have to get me out of here!" She cried. I nodded, "That's the plan. Grab my hand," and she did as told.

By the time we managed to drag ourselves out, several students were helping us. Two of them standing on the outside helped me lift the girl and get her out. When my turn came, they did the same, and by the time the ambulance was here, we were already out of danger.  
Everyone was staring in awe at both me and the girl. I could feel a few scratches on my face, but the rest of me was fine. Except for the migraine that was coming on due to the excess spirit use. I had to literally grab onto a railing nearby to steady myself. The world around me was beginning to spin and my head was getting lighter…

No, I couldn't black out yet. Not in front of all these people.

Some of the girl's friends ran to her side, someone handed her a blanket, people were asking her a million questions about how she managed to survive such a crash without a scratch on her. I wish I'd left a few bruises where they were, so things didn't seem too implausible, unfortunately, spirit didn't work that way.

The truck-driver didn't make it, as I'd suspected, he was long gone. The paramedics confirmed that his death was instant, he had probably died on impact. It was sad. I made sure to remember that I was going to check the guy's autopsy, the paramedics were surprised when they found out that it didn't look like he'd consumed any alcohol. If the guy hadn't been under the influence or anything, this could be called an attempted murder.

Except… I was getting ominous, supernatural vibes from the whole thing. Which was stupid, it was just a regular accident. Still… after last night's dream visit, I was permanently unhinged and anything was possible. I mean it was snowing in Palm Springs after all.

I got asked loads of questions too, some people complimented me on my bravery, I even got girls asking me for my number. Some kid from the school newsletter asked me my name and if I went to this school so that he could write about my 'heroics' in Amberwood!Today.

It was flattering.

Most of it, though. Was a blur. I needed to go somewhere… Lay down.

When most of the crowd had cleared, I was about to walk away but the girl came running to me. "Thank you so much for saving my life. I'm not sure if I could have made it out without you. It's amazing, isn't it? I survived. God must really exist. I'm gonna start going to church, every Sunday. It really is a miracle."

_Yeah, and her 'God' happens to smoke mints and wear too much hair gel.  
_  
Still, it kind of made me feel good. I smiled back at her, "Anytime."

As soon as she left me though, I made my way back inside my parked Mustang somehow, and fell asleep instantly.

xxxxx

"How was class?" I asked Sydney, falling in step with her as she walked towards the other side of campus. She was staring straight ahead, and I hoped she wouldn't look at my face. The thick winter-clothes had cushioned most of my body, so I mostly looked okay, but my face still had a few bruises, and I didn't want Sydney dwelling. Not that she wasn't going to find out, because she would, very soon, I predicted.

I'd slept for over four hours, and if one of the valet parking dudes hadn't walked over to me and woken me up, I'd probably have slept through the rest of the day. I remembered that I'd promised to go see Sydney and Jill for lunch, but it was already five in the evening. Luckily, I found Sydney heading back to her dorm room on time.

My head still felt extremely woozy, and I had to walk a little slow to keep from stumbling since my vision was fuzzy. Somehow, though, my body came through for me.

"Awesome. Learnt some interesting things. Violence in early adolescence." She explained, smiling slightly. "Want me to autograph your textbook?" I joked, arching an eyebrow. She laughed, then turned to look at me. "You missed lunch." My smile dissolved and I took a deep breath, "Yeah," I scratched the back of my head. "Sorry, got caught up."

Her eyes scanned my face and alarm appeared in them almost on cue, "What—What happened to your face?" At that exact moment, I felt like I was in a soap opera because Jill was marching towards us, and she looked upset when she saw me. "Adrian!" She cried, crossing the distance between us and coming to a halt right in front of us.

_Oh, great_. You'd think that I would have gotten something better from the Powers that Be than a stupid bond as a thank-you present for saving her life.

She crossed her arms over her chest. Her nose flared, her little palms fisted in fury, it was adorable. "There are lots of rumors going around, you know. About the miracle on campus."

I knew that I'd been caught red-handed, but I tried playing clueless, just to stall.

"Really? I wouldn't know." She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, you wouldn't? See, that's a little hard to believe, considering it's about the girl that you brought back to life!" She spat.

Next to me, I felt Sydney go extremely still. "What is she talking about, Adrian?" Her voice was calm, but I could feel the underlying tension practically radiating off of her. "Yes. Care to explain?" Jill quizzed, her eyes fused with rage. "I don't know what you're talking about," I told Jill, then turned to Sydney, "I don't know what she's talking about. Jailbait, haven't we had the conversation about your underage drinking?"

"Adrian!" Both the girls exclaimed in unison, sounding like a pair of angels sent to earth to avenge me. I sighed in defeat, knowing that my mien was up. The thing was, I'd done something noble, and these two were at my case as if I'd just killed a person.

I looked around, "Okay, can we just… go back to Jailbait's dorm and talk about it there? We wouldn't want to cause a scene in public, would we?"

Sydney grit her teeth, "It's a little too late for that." But she obeyed, and we took the next shuttle to the dorms.

Once we were in her room, they both fixed me with icy expressions. Sydney looked worse than Jill, slightly dissapointed. "Look, I drove to see you guys for lunch and saw this ruckus on campus, so I sought it out, just to see what it was all about. There had been a terrible accident and nobody was doing jack squat about it. I mean, they just stood there. They all just stood there like a bunch of idiots with their mouths hanging open instead of trying to help. There was a girl stuck inside the car, and she was still alive." I began to explain,  
they both nodded, and gestured for me to go on. "So I crawled into the car and tried to pull her out, but who knows how long ago the trauma had occurred? She was dying. Guys, she was impaled. It—It was twisted and gruesome and… I _had_ to do something. Okay? If you wielded the power to heal, you'd wanna help too. Hell, anyone with a freaking soul would want to. So… I knew that she had only a few minutes left, and I also knew that if I could restore her broken bones, we could slide out without much trouble. So… I did exactly that."

Sydney didn't speak. She took a deep breath and stared down at the floor, trying her best to avoid looking at me. Jill, on the other hand, I noticed her gaze soften a little. "Her name was Tessa, the girl you saved. She…Told everyone about how you helped her. But she couldn't remember a lot of it, you compelled her. Didn't you?" I rubbed my palms together, suddenly feeling a little chilled, but nodded.

"I had to…or she'd start telling everyone about Adrian the Miracle Healer. Anyway, I—I could barely stand after that. Fatigue—it comes kind of complimentary with the spirit package. So I walked over to my car and slept for a while. I'm sorry that I upset you guys, but I couldn't just watch her die when I had the power to save her life. You understand that, right?" I was practically pleading them now, I tried to put that puppy dog eye thing in action, hoping that they would forgive me. Jill was weak, her head hung low and I could practically see her changing her mind. She looked a bit conflicted now.

My eyes swiveled to Sydney. Her arms were shaking and her face had blanched. Jill noticed too, "Sydney? Are—Are you alright?" No answer. Two seconds later, Sydney muttered something I couldn't quite catch and excused herself. She walked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. I felt my heart sink a little at that.

I turned back to meet Jill's eyes, Jill looked concerned—but it wasn't me she was concerned about, at least, not at the moment. "What's going on with her, Jailbait?" I asked. She shrugged, "Sydney's been a little down lately. I figured its because of everything going on with Mrs. Terwilliger and the magic stuff—but I'm not sure."

I sighed and shook my head, I had to know if she was doing okay. Concern for her mixed with love and anxiety welled up inside of me, and I felt a little nausea coming on. Although, that could probably be because of the spirit use. I still wasn't fully rested over that and my body needed more time to recover.

Jill read it on my face, and her expression shifted to one of sisterly love. She walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder, "I think what you did was really brave. It was reckless and scary, I know because I felt what you were feeling when you were there but… it was really brave. I get what you're talking about, too. About having the power to do something like that? I would have probably done the same thing if I were in your shoes." Her soothing words spread warmth inside of me, calming the tidal waves of misery that were making their way through every nerve inside my body.

Sometimes, I forgot just how grateful I was for having someone like Jill in my life. She filled the void that my family had left inside of me. What with my dad being a condescending, ruthless jerk and my mother stuck in a jail cell somewhere miles away and out of my reach. Even Lissa and I, who had been super close, didn't talk much now. I needed Jill, I realized. More than she'd ever know, even with that ridiculous bond between us.

I pulled Jill into a small hug after that. I found myself needing the contact. "What would I ever do without you, Jailbait." She smiled against my shoulder, "I thought you didn't do mushy," I let go of her and grinned, "You're the exception to that."

A minute or two after, I decided that Sydney would feel more comfortable if I left her dorm, and I was pretty sure that if I didn't leave now, I would curl up right here on her bed. I was still extremely tired, and in full need to go back home and get some real sleep. I thanked Jill, for understanding and being so supportive, I told her to talk to Sydney and take care of her when I couldn't, then left.

I walked past a few people who seemed to recognize me from my 'archaic act of bravery' as I made my way back to my car. I had to take most of it in modesty and managed to escape them as quickly as I could. Amberwood was seriously a dangerous place for me now.

As soon as I got in the car, all of the suppressed turmoil, pain and weariness came crumbling down on me. I gripped the steering wheel tight, till my knuckles were white and then I let go.

I flipped on the radio, blasted Supertramp and just let it all go.


	7. I Love You, But I've Chosen Darkness

**A/N: I am sorry for these late updates, but I've been super busy with this agitating thing called life. I will try to update sooner, but there's a lot of editing going around and I still have a few chapters to polish and finish up, so do bare with me. AND PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**

**P.S This chapter contains a dream, Sydney's dream has a lot of hints of what's to come and where this story will lead. You probably won't be able to connect the dots until you read the whole story, but you can surely try. ;)**

**Credits: This chapter contains dialogue adapted from "The Fiery Heart" written by Richelle Mead.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**: Sydney

_I can feel a sense of danger  
__You stare at me like I'm a stranger  
__Paralyzed and you don't seem to care_

__The demons in my dreams__

* * *

Sometimes I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Sometimes, I literally had to squeeze my eyes shut and count to ten to control it. My throat swells up, it felt like someone was trying to crush my windpipe. My stomach will churn and then the bile begins to rise…This was one of those times.

I was crumpled to the floor with my back against the bathroom door and my face buried in my hands as a million sensations ran through me. Sadness. Anger. Disappointment. They were just the beginning of the feelings threatening to burst from my heart. I couldn't stop thinking about the dreams and the blood and Adrian's lifeless body spread out underneath me. He didn't realize what he was doing to himself, of course. And how could he? This was who he was. It was what had attracted me to Adrian in the first place. Once you get past the strong, cocky exterior, you came to realize just how compassionate he was. He was a beautiful soul, truly. He could be utterly selfless when he really tried, too.

It wasn't like I didn't understand it. He saw the opportunity to save the girl, it was a temptation he couldn't resist. I was just worried that he wouldn't recognize the full impact of wielding that much spirit. Things like these had repercussions. Consequences. There was a way things were supposed to go, that girl… well, whatever happened, happened. She was meant to die under that car. It wasn't his responsibility to save her life. I knew I sounded heartless. But there was a person out there right now, a person who shouldn't be alive. With Jill... It happened; she was an anomaly; someone who I can understand had to come back. There was no point crying over spilt milk but... He had to realize that he couldn't save _everyone_. It's just… upsetting the balance and nature of things, it's going to have a ripple effect. If I were in Adrian's place, I knew that I would probably do the same thing but… It wasn't right. If things like this didn't have strong ramifications then spirit wielders would be saving the world already. There was a reason they were all either dead or driven mad.

The power to heal and be able to look into a person's aura. It sounded so harmless, so gifted and gentle. The universe had it all wrong. They had to corrupt it. They had to shroud it with darkness for it to work.

God, it wasn't fair. He'd helped her. There shouldn't be anything wrong with that, right? He shouldn't be punished for such a noble deed. Still… I knew the harsh truth. There was a line, at some point, that one shouldn't cross. There would be a big price to pay for what he was doing, I knew too well what had happened to spirit users in the past. And Adrian… he was pushing it too far. This was the second time he saved someone from a near-death situation, and while an amazing thing to do, it would cripple him. Spirit would take him over and then he'd never be my beautiful Adrian again. He'd be a shell of a human being. Dank, hollow, empty… crazed, eaten up and swallowed whole by that dark magic that resided within him.

I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't. I hadn't even realized I was crying until I tasted the salt water in my mouth. I rubbed a few haphazard tears away. Suddenly, someone banged against the door rather feverishly. "Sydney, are you still in there?" It was Angeline's voice.  
"Jill told me to leave you alone, but you can talk to me if you want!"

I took a deep breath. It wasn't like me to break down like this, if there was one thing that my father ever taught me that held any weight, it was not to fret over everything. I stood up and washed my face, then practiced my trademark stoic Alchemist face in the mirror a couple of times before opening the door. Angeline was standing with her back against the wall and her arms crossed. "Ah, good. I thought you'd never get out of there. Are you okay?" I flashed her an impassive smile. "I'm fine, I'll just head back to my dorm." Angeline tilted her head just a little, "You reek of anxiety," I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'll be honest I only offered to talk to you because I really have to pee but hey, if you really need anything—" I cut her off and gave her another tight smile. "I've got tons of homework to finish so I'll be heading back now. Thanks, Angeline. Just… Stay out of trouble. Okay?"

Angeline sighed and nodded, passing me a nonplussed look before going into the bathroom and shutting the door. I nodded, feeling slightly less miserable already as I made my way back to my own dorm room so that I could go be pathetic and vulnerable in private instead.

xxxxx

Sulking was therapeutic. Who knew?

After spending some time alone in my room to gather my roller coaster of thoughts and emotions, I headed out on campus to hit the library. Mrs. T had texted me about a book she wanted me to check out relating to the next spell that she wanted me and Adrian to perform. She told me to tell the librarian to hand her the first book on pile seven from Jaclyn Terwilliger's collection.

After fetching the book, I decided to sit down in the library itself. Maybe being around other people would keep my mind from wandering too much. To add to my list of unsolved problems, I still wasn't sure if I was ready to perform another spell with Adrian. These things…They were intimate, the second spell that Mrs. T expected us to perform by the time she was back involved the most intimacy. We literally had to become one being for that spell to work. As I read on, my fears were only confirmed.

The second spell was known as an amalgamation spell, it required both subjects to literally combine their thoughts, experiences and their life forces for it to work perfectly. The magic used for conducting the spell was especially basic and didn't take too much time or work, but the spell itself was a long and treacherous process.

Adrian would be able to watch my entire life flash before his eyes; in a manner of speaking. The most important moments in my life, the happiest or saddest days, any event of the past that had taken a lot an emotional toll on me. He would be able to see it all, and it went both ways, too. It would be like literally being able to peep into someone else's head and heart for a few moments and that was… scary. I wasn't sure if I was ready for something like that. On the other hand… Well, on the other hand, it was all for a greater cause, one that I had promised to aid.

Someone tapping on my shoulder distracted me from my copious thoughts and dumped me back into the real world. A smile broke across my face when I looked up to see the familiar face of Trey Juarez. "Why, Melbourne. It's nice to see you. I thought you'd be stuffing your face with tortilla chips and sipping pina-coladas under the blue mexican sky right about now." I repressed a chuckle. It was so good to see him, it had been a while. He looked great as usual, with that sun-kissed tan, the unruly black hair and those intense brown eyes.

He grabbed a chair, flipped it over and sat down besides me. "It's good to see you too, Trey," I muttered. He quickly put a hand to his heart in mock dismay, "That's all you have to say for yourself? Gotta say, I'm a little offended that you didn't tell me you'd skipped the country and even more that you didn't tell me you're back. I guess I'm about to be one-upped as the number one contender to be Amberwood's smartest again." I rolled my eyes. Sometimes, I thought Trey's cockiness could compete with Adrian's. Why did I always get stuck with the most pretentious guys for friends?

I smiled at him though, warmly, feeling a little guilty myself. "I was looking for you when I made my obligatory coffee stop at Spencer's earlier, you were nowhere to be found. I _am_ really sorry I didn't tell you about Mexico, though. Forgive me?" I tilted my head to the side and passed him a pouty grin. He laughed, "No way, Melbourne. It's gonna take more than that to earn my stalwart friendship back." I thought about this. "I'll spy on Angeline for you."  
Trey's smile dissipated at this, replaced with a slightly soulful frown. "Sold."

I knew that Trey still pretty much had lingering feelings for Angeline, I was pretty sure the affection was mutual. Just like Jill, Angeline was only kidding herself with the attraction to Neil, I could tell that she, too, still missed Trey a lot. I kind of felt bad for them, thinking about my own messed up situation with Adrian. Palm Springs was certainly not Love Central at the moment. "Can you believe its been like the freaking North Pole out here these past few days? I was starting to think the end is coming." Trey joked. I almost choked on my own saliva at the accuracy. I wasn't sure for how long the supernatural snow was going to illicit laughs, so I immediately changed the subject. "How have you been?" I asked him, wanting to divert my mind again.

"As good as one can be when they're going against their very own birthright. My father's still as furious as they come, and I'm still not sure I want to be a part of the WOL, they're tacky and imperious. I'd rather run off with Angeline and those strange Keepers. You think I'd win in a fight to the death with Angeline's brother?" He wondered aloud, flexing his muscles at me. I laughed again, and some girl sitting across from us had to shush us. I sighed, "I'm sure you would do just fine but I don't think you'd survive a day in those conditions." Trey's eyes grew distant, "I'd do it for her."

I could feel my heart swell up at that comment. I suddenly felt terribly guilty that I ever felt uncomfortable about Trey and Angeline. Yes, she had cheated on Eddie and that was wrong but I could tell just how much they wanted to be together simply by reading their expressions. I wanted them to be happy. If I wasn't going to get that flowery fairy-tale ending, I could at least wish it for my friends, right? Unfortunately, social whims, customs and taboos were more important to consider than feelings and emotions.

"Yo, Juarez! You coming or not?" Some guy in a green jersey called out from the other side of the library. The girl and a few others shushed him. Trey turned to look at me, "That's my cue, you take care, Melbourne. We'll gossip and braid each other's hair later this week? Call me. Oh, and don't forget to watch Angeline's every waking move while you're at it! Later."

He skipped off, and I felt myself smiling again. An hour or so of reading later, my brain couldn't take it anymore and I decided that I'd hit the bed a little early today. I skipped dinner, not feeling the slighest bit hungry—but it had nothing to do with my weight watch. I just didn't think I could stomach anything today. As soon as I was back in my room and the lights were off, my throat began to throb and the anxiety was back.

Adrian and his growing spirit concerns. Some crazy she-witch trying to freeze Palm Springs to death. Elemental magic malfunctioning. My brain was about ready to jump out of my head and go on a long, tedious vacation. Somehow, a few frantic minutes later, though, my drowsiness got the best of me and sleep caught up with me.

Momentarily, all my problems seemed to go away.

Until they were back. In the form of a dream.

xxxxx

_I'm standing in a theme park, it's dark and dusty; so I can't see very clearly. My surroundings flicker like someone is flipping a switch on and off. The theme-park is full, packed with people in all kinds of costumes. A woman in an old-fashioned dress talks to a man in a wizard's cloak. A tall guy dressed like… a reindeer in a suit? is delivering drinks to a tiny old woman and Julia. Most of the faces that pass me by, however, are a blur._

_My friends are here, too. Dimitri Belikov is the first person I recognize. He is dressed like a ninja in a fully black uniform complete with a nunchuck and tabi boots. Next to him stands Rose, who is dressed in a white wedding dress. She's holding a red rose in her right hand and has a strange black mist surrounding her._

_"What's going on?" I ask. "Are we going somewhere?"_

_"Maybe," Dimitri says. "I wouldn't know. I'm just along for the rides."_

_"I think it depends on the ride," Rose says. "Which one are you getting on?"_

_"I… don't know," I reply. Something ahead of me catches my eye: a glimpse of familiar green eyes and dark tousled hair. "I have to go." I tell them. They don't stop me as I walk past._

_"Be safe!" Dimitri calls, "Yes. It's a dark road ahead. Don't stumble!" Rose agrees._

_I push through the crowd. Mrs. Terwilliger is down a little further. Malachi Wolfe is standing to her left. She is dressed like the fairy godmother from Cinderella in blue robes and a wand. Malachi Wolfe wears nothing but a red cape over his normal attire and an overgrown mustache._

_"Hello, Sydney," Mrs. Terwilliger says. "I'm glad that you could make it. I was beginning to get worried."_

_I frown. "I've always been here."_

_Malachi Wolfe laughs, "So much to learn, child."_

_I try to look past them, in hopes of getting a better look at the tent behind them. "Do you want to stay back? You have the option, you know." Mrs. Terwilliger suggests. "Not right now. I've got to…" I look around. People press on all sides, but ahead, dissapearing into the tent, I catch a flash of the familiar brown hair again. I push on._

_Jill and Angeline stop me next. Jill is dressed like a princess in a bright pink gown and has a tiara perched upon her head. Angeline is wearing the same ninja outfit that Dimitri wore. Neil is standing in between the both of them, dressed as a giant gift box._

_"I don't think all this pink and gold goes with my hair," Jill complains._

_"You can take it off, you know." Angeline explains. "You've only misunderstood the metaphor."_

_"What metaphor?" I ask._

_Jill looks at me seriously. "Why are you still here? You don't have much time, Sydney. She awaits him."_

_"But it's too confidential."_

_"You can't hide forever." Angeline points out. "He can see," Jill insists, "He will help you."_

_She hands me a purple t-shirt with a fiery heart drawn on it. My surroundings flicker again, gleaming off soft brown hair and pale skin up ahead._

_"I have to go," I tell Angeline and Jill._

_I follow my instinct and make it to the tent somehow. I take a few steps in. There is a long, narrow corridor that looks endless. There are several mirrors to both my sides. In one mirror, I see myself standing in formal Alchemist wear with a book in my hand and a pencil in my hair. In another, I am clad in a black Halloween witch costume with a hat and a green wig. In the third mirror I look at, I am a mess. My hair are sticking out, my clothes are wrinkly and my mascara is smudged. In the last mirror that I get a glimpse at, I am dressed as I am right now, and staring back at my own reflection._

_I walk out of the tent somehow. The patch of ground ahead of me is full of people, and somehow I know that they're Alchemists. Zoe waits for me just outside, flanked on one side by my father and on the other by my mother._

_"We have been waiting for you," Zoe says. My father looks angry. My mother looks sad._  
_"What took you so long?"_

_"She can't stay with us, Zoe." My mother's voice is gentle. "She's got places to be."_

_My dad huffs, his eyes red. "If she leaves us now, there's no turning back."_

_"Where does this road lead? I don't know which ride I'm supposed to be on," I explain, confused._

_"It goes part of the way," My mother tells me. "But we've switched paths."_

_I'm not sure how I get there but I'm now on a train. I make my way to the next car and Eddie waits for me at the door. He's holding a small key._

_"You made the right choice," Eddie says. "I hope you'll visit us again. It gets really lonely, you know."_

_I take the key from him, the door opens and I go through._

_"See you later, Syd," Keith says, stepping into the doorway behind me. He is dressed as a robot. "You're gonna need lots of shoes. Oh, and don't forget to bring back my eye." He pulls something and our cars disconnect. The one with him, the Alchemists and my family goes rattling off into the darkness, along another track. I shut the door._

_The car I'm now on is full of dead people. I can't see most of their faces, but somehow, I know they're all dead. They stand silently as I pass. I think I see Micah, or, someone who looks like him as I walk on. All the figures around me are transparent. The car drops me off at a beach. The sun is setting in the sky._

_Marcus, Wade and Amelia stand in front of me. Marcus's face is painted to look like a sad clown, complete with a droopy red mouth and blue tears running down his ridged cheeks. The whole effect is pretty gruesome._

_"It might have been different," he tells me. "It just comes off so easily."_

_Wade, who is next to him, smiles at me wistfully. "Leaving two worlds behind. That's dangerous."_

_Amelia's eyes grow big as she regards me. "No, I think she'll make it."_

_Marcus sounds dissapointed, "I wish we had, too."_

_None of them stop me as I walk past them, trying to locate that familiar… I see him rounding a corner behind a palm tree. I follow._

_We leave the beach behind and I find Trey next, he is wearing a monkey's outfit._  
_"They wouldn't listen," he mutters sadly. "They'll come for your friends."_

_"Why would you say that?" I ask._

_Trey laughs harshly. "Because they told me to."_

_I walk past Trey, still in a hurry. Finally, I find him. He's standing on the edge of the lane. There is a barbed-wire fence that reads, 'Dead-End.' Adrian turns around._

_"I was trying to catch up," I tell him. Adrian has a transparent rope fastened tightly around his neck, and half of his face is shrouded in shadow so I can only see one green eye. __"I know. I wish you didn't." He says._

_I stare at him. "Why not?" He points at something behind me. I turn around._

_The moon is rising in the sky behind me, eclipsing the sun. Far, far ahead, a tall white tower juts up over the horizon. There are three sections of land in front of me. There are millions of frozen people in the first one, vampires and humans killing each other in a battle of swords and fangs in the second, and a small globe catches on fire and burns up in the third. All my friends, family, they're there, too. I can feel it._

_I turn back to Adrian. He looks scary, paler than usual. There is blood. And then, his eyes go as ice blue as a frozen lake and open wide. "She's coming," he says._

_"Who's coming?" I ask._

_Before he can answer that, I turn and what I see makes me—_

wake up with a gasp.

I sat up in my bed for a long time after that, shivering under the blankets, trying to get warm.

xxxxx"What do you make of it?" I asked Mrs. T the next day. I'd written down the whole dream in the dream journal that she'd asked me to keep and was explaining a few details of it to her on the phone.

"Can you describe again the creature you saw? The one at the very end?"

I shivered but nodded. "Horrible. Female. Platinum-blonde hair. Hard, white skin, a little craggy, actually. Her eyes were strange; hypnotic. Like a kaleidoscope. She had sharp teeth. She looked… inhuman, Mrs. Terwilliger. Like—Like a demon or something."

She was quiet for atleast half a minute before she spoke up again. "I see, it's certainly not… something we've, ah, faced in the past." I could practically hear her polishing her glasses. "No," I agreed, "Definitely not." She huffed on the other end of the line, "I'll dig up as much as I can. Today, we go to visit the ancient witch from our clan. Hopefully she will be able to provide us with some viable information. I will be back tomorrow itself since I can see things are very urgent back there. For today, I'd like you to finish one of the spells that I asked you to conduct; and hold a meeting. Ask your buddies to, erhm…Yes, ask them to do some research. I'll text you some of the titles of the books they must go through."

I sighed languidly, I didn't have much of a choice, so I agreed and cut the phone with her. As I walked to class later that day, I couldn't help but feel extremely rattled. I hadn't slept well that night, I was afraid I'd receive another dream and I'm sorry but one freakish cryptic dream per night is more than enough. During English, I found my mind drifting. I wondered why Malachi Wolfe was with Mrs. T in that dream. I hoped it wasn't _that_ prophetic. That creepy mental picture itself managed to put a lid on the dream-induced thoughts for a while, to my relief.

I called on the meeting at Mrs. T's home once everyone's classes were finished for the day. I felt a little grateful that she'd given me the spare keys to her place so that we could have a space to conduct these things. Adrian's apartment wasn't a bad idea, but it was too small and didn't have most of the supplies we needed. "I'm glad everyone could make it. Mrs. Terwilliger wants us all to do some research of the specific books that I will name in a moment, so… yeah. Let's get to it." I explained, mentally ticking off the books as I called the titles out loud.

I was going through the book with the first spell's instructions as everyone else was sprawled about the rest of the living room. Jill peered at something she saw in one of the books, "Did you know that there's a spell here that cooks shrimp for you? Imagine how much money we'd make if we opened a seafood restaurant." Eddie choked back a laugh, something he was becoming a master at thanks to his seemingly in-built guardian adroitness.

"Focus guys." I mumbled, not even looking up at them. Neil stood up, tossing a book on the couch. The book hit a cat and it mewed in protest, he winced. "Oops," Adrian rolled his eyes, "What did Jaws ever do to you?" Neil loured at Adrian, "Jaws?" Adrian shrugged, flipping through a random page in the book he was going through. "That cat bites. Jackie named him that for a reason - Didn't you know?" Neil took a few steps away from it, suddenly staring at it with fear like it was the Anti Christ. Adrian chuckled and Neil registered the fact that it was a joke. "That was cruel. Anyway, I must go head for a donut run now, so you are excused."

The guy spoke about going on a donut run like he was going to an annual general meeting.

"Orders everyone?" They gave him their orders and he left us to our research. Jill groaned,  
"How are we supposed to look for something that we've never actually seen before? Most of these books are pure gibberish—I'm not any good at this!" Angeline nodded at Jill,

"Just do what I do. Flip through the pages and look busy."

I slammed my book shut as loudly as I could. That got everyone to pay attention. I took a deep breath and let it out before I spoke, "This is serious business. There is a reason we hold these meetings. We're not here to slack. Anyone who wants to, however, is free to leave. The door is right there," I pointed at the door. "Something is stirring up trouble, the whole world is in danger and that compromises of all of us. Either you take this seriously or you leave the rest of us be. There's no time to waste."

Jill flashed me a concerned look, Eddie stayed quiet. Angeline had an irritated expression on her face but didn't speak up, either. Adrian however, had to say something. "Geez, Sage. We're doing the best we can."

"Then do better," I grumbled, knowing how rude I'd just sounded. "Ugh!" I exclaimed, rubbing my eyes a little and crashing back into my seat. "I'm sorry." I then muttered, when I could think straight again. "I didn't mean to… I know how difficult this must be for you guys. You're doing relatively well. I'm—I shouldn't be so hard on you. Just…Take five if you'd like."

"You sure?" Eddie arched a brow, I nodded, flashing him as much of a smile as I could muster. "Finally. Thanks, Sydney." Angeline muttered, standing up and walking into Mrs. T's kitchen. Jill just stared at me with a pensive look on her face. Adrian walked over.

He sat down across from me on the table, and grabbed my hand from under it, when nobody was paying attention. He clasped it tight, squeezing it and spreading warmth and courage throughout my body. The contact left my skin wanting more. The butterflies had also returned, and they were ever-ready to stage a performance. "What's wrong?" He asked.

I had to bite back a smile. Adrian always seemed to be able to read my moods. It's like he had a backstage pass to the inner workings of my mind. I sighed, rubbing my temples,"Its… nothing. The dreams are just getting worse, and starting to take a toll on my body. I barely slept a wink last night and—and now, I… I have this spell to finish in time for Mrs. Terwilliger to come back, which is tomorrow by the way. That means I'll have to start working on it today itself and… I'm a blithering idiot, aren't I?" I flashed Adrian a small sheepish grin.

It wasn't like me—well, the regular me, to be ranting on about how unfair my life was and yet here I was doing exactly that. I bit my tongue before speaking, "I'm supposed to be the level-headed one between the two of us," He smiled at that. "I forget."

He shook his head, "We can reverse those roles in a heartbeat," I rolled my eyes, "No, you see, I like being the one calming other people down. When I'm the one who is in need of the calming… Well, let's just say hell's about to freeze over."

Adrian smirked at that, "Do you see the irony in that analogy or shall I point it out?"

I bit my lip sheepishly and he gave my hand a gentle squeeze under the table. I was pretty sure that my goosebumps were about to get goosebumps. "Hey," he said, his entrancing green eyes boring down into my own. The sunlight from the window nearby highlighted the features on the side of his face. Sometimes, I thought that Adrian was a sculpted masterpiece, just as magnificent as his own artistry work. "You remember what I told you?" I nodded, "You don't have to do anything that you don't want to. No pressure."

I sighed, instantly feeling some of my anxiety lifting already. "Adrian," my voice was barely a whisper but he heard me and arched an eyebrow. "I'm still upset," he didn't need to be told about what. He knew it, the look on his face said it all. His mouth twisted to a little testy curve. "I figured you'd say that. Listen Sage… I don't think that's a subject that's debatable. I know what you're gonna say—" I cut him off, "Do you really, though? Spirit is known to be a curse for a reason, you know. If it was all about healing and saving lives then I'm pretty sure the world would be a better place today. Your healing power that prevented a girl from being killed? That's almost as unnatural as our supernatural snowstorm - perhaps even more. There are books, I… I could show them to you, depicting the lives of spirit users in the past; ones whose lives ended quite tragically. I will not stand here and watch you as you crash and burn."

Adrian took a deep breath and leaned a little away from me, there was a haunted look in his eyes, like reliving past events. "You think I don't know that? Lissa used to cut herself till she almost bled herself dry, Sonya Karp willingly turned herself into a Strigoi because she thought that turning into a mutated killing machine was a better option than letting spirit drown her in her own insanity. There are more… stories. Maybe I'm drawn to the darkness. Maybe I came out wrong. I… I don't know, but it doesn't stop me from doing what I think is right. I wouldn't have been able to bloody bare it, Sage, god… If I'd let that girl die? I would have blamed myself for days. It would feel like her blood was on my hands, even if I wasn't the cause of her death. So yes, I know all the risks and the consequences but I don't think there's anything that I can do about it. So can we please drop the subject?"

I shook my head, "You have to see things from an outsider's perspective. Meddling with these things have dire consequences. I'm not going to stand by and watch you destroy your life! I don't want to have to come visit you in some crabby rehabilitation center in the middle of nowhere! I don't want to imagine what could happen if you take one step too far. Think of it as quicksand, if you dip a toe in... You're going to be sucked in underneath, you can't come back from that." Adrian stared at me, his eyes wide. "Don't you have any consideration at all? I saved lives! I did something noble! It's… It's all the good I'll ever do in this world, okay?"

My jaw dropped. "Why would you say that?"

He shook his head, "Nevermind. I'll put it in words you can understand. This is a temptation I can't fight."

"Then remove it. Talk to a doctor. Take the decision away, and see what wondrous things you can do when you're in control of yourself again."

We stared intensely into one another's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Finally he swallowed and began to stand, shaking his head and muttering things under his breath that I just couldn't catch. Suddenly, I realized that we were in public and that nobody in this room other than Jill had one clue of my not-so-professional relationship with Adrian.

I froze. I think Adrian realized at the same time I did. We both gawked at the others. Jill looked extremely tense, she was holding her head like she thought it was going to fall off id she didn't. Neil had come back from his trip to bring everyone snacks; Eddie and Angeline whispered in hush tones. Finally, someone broke the nerve-racking awkwardness.

"We are going to leave now. Neil and I have to go start our training session." Angeline announced, at this, Jill seemed to pipe up. I was pretty sure that she'd felt the brunt of Adrian's wavering emotions just a few minutes ago, but name our good man Neil and she was all doe-eyed and swooning in a matter of seconds. "Can I join? I'd like to watch and learn some stuff on my own." She cooed.

Angeline frowned, grabbing a hold of Neil's arm. "I really don't think that's necessary," she grit her teeth. Neil, for once, nodded in agreement. "I think it would be best if you leave the protecting to us, your Highness. I do not mean to offend you, but if you ever were in the position of a danger so severe that you must defend your own life then that would mean that we did not do our job right." Jill loured right back at her, knowing that Angeline had pushed the right buttons. "Can I atleast join you guys so that I can watch? It wouldn't be so bad to have the knowledge of a few techniques. No harm done, right?" Neil seemed convinced. He bowed gallantly, a respectful glint in his eye. "Of course, your Highness." Jill smirked roguishly. It was funny, she used to get uncomfortable when he addressed her like a princess; now she was relishing in it.

"Ugh. _Fine._ She can come, but she gets to look on from a safe distance. We wouldn't want our _royal highness_ to get herself hurt. This isn't child's play, you know. It takes strength and bravery." Angeline's voice was dripping with venom, Jill licked her lips, muttering some curses that even I didn't know the meaning of under her breath.

Jill stood up, "We'll see about that." Angeline groaned, starting to follow a very confused Neil out of the room and petulantly mumbling stuff like, "If only she wasn't the queen's sister. I would have shown her—would have proven my worth the way we do it back home - with fists flying and jaws tight."

Despite Angeline's current childish animosity towards Jill, I knew for a fact that she would do anything to protect Jill when it came to it. "How good are you at javelin-throwing? Back home, we used to play this game on Friday nights..." Angeline and Neil were out the door before I could catch any more of that conversation. Jill flashed us a knowing, sympathetic grin as she walked out. Eddie frowned at the two of us, "Do you need me for more research work?"

I sighed, an idea dawning over me—one that admittedly did _not_ work to my benefit. "Adrian and I have to conduct that spell that Mrs. Terwilliger assigned us. You can stay if you want to but…" Eddie raised his hands up, already half way out the door. "Nah, I get it. You kids have fun. Don't get too worked up—oh, and Sydney? I'm a phone call away if you need anything." He flashed me a small smile, a professional one to Adrian; and then left the two of us to deal with our looming problems.

I smiled back at Eddie, I'd forgotten how genuine and considerate he could be. He still felt slightly vary leaving me alone with Adrian; as long as he was aware, I still thought of vampires as daunting abominations and whatnot. I knew that he would have stayed if I'd asked, but I couldn't have distractions for the spell to work right.

Adrian sighed in relief, "I thought we were busted for a second. I thought I was going to throw up this morning's breakfast with the tension in the air." I nodded, "We need to be careful. Look, I would love to sit around here for the rest of the day, passing remarks and violent retorts at each other but we've got some more important things to focus on."

Adrian didn't have to be told twice. He was practically begging for a change of subject.

"Ready?" He asked, when most of the stuff we needed for the spell was in place.

"Ready enough to know that we need to do this before I change my mind."


	8. The Amalgamation Spell

**A/N: I'm sorry for the late post, I've just been super busy. Not to mention that this story has not gotten the response I'd hoped, I barely have any feedback and I guess I'd expected more. I'd like to think there are still a few, however sparse, loyal readers who may still be interested in this story, which is why I decided to continue posting, but if I still don't get any feedback after this, I may not be motivated to post the next one.**

**I hope I don't come off as rude, I hope you understand. Thank you. xxx**

**Credits: This chapter contains dialogue adapted from "Last Sacrifice" written by Richelle Mead.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: **Sydney

_It's easy to fall in love _  
_But it's so hard to _

_break somebody's heart... _

_what seemed like a good idea has_  
_turned into a battlefield_

* * *

Sometimes I rehashed everything that had happened in my life this past year, and I wondered when my life had gotten so messed up.

So difficult, so complex so… dissimilar to what it was like back in my Alchemist-days. Sometimes it felt like that was another life. Now I was an amateur witch slash conflicted Alchemist. I was having love affairs with sexy vampires and pointing guns at Alchemist rebels, fighting murderous witches, cleaning up Keith's messes and constantly dealing with the trauma that came with living the taboo.

I was friends with a bunch of vampires, outcasts and witches. And I liked it.

They were like a second family to me by now. Zoe and my mom were great, but they couldn't always be there for me, and my father's influence was already rubbing off on Zoe like I'd expected it to. My father was never much of a father, I wasn't really a daughter to him; simply a project. He had one goal for me in life, and that was that I follow in his footsteps, no questions asked. My life was panned out for me before I even knew how to walk. I'd accepted it, I'd come to terms with my fate. Once and a while, I even learnt to like it, get used to it, blend in… never stand out. I kept the attention off me.

Now, well let's just say that if I was a celebrity, I'd be front page news for six months straight.  
To add to the tumult, I now had to deal with some crazy lady who was going to break out war and destruction by meddling with elemental magic. I'd read up on enough magic history and specifics to know that when dark magic and light magic mixed, bad things happened.

So now here I was, conducting a spell with my spirit-induced vampire friend. Is that what we were? Friends? I wasn't quite sure. Especially not after the abrupt blowout that almost got us exposed in front of our friends and threatened our positions in both the vampire and Alchemist societies.

I didn't like casting spells, even if the high that I sometimes got from it was addictive. The Sydney from my past life would have shuddered, dissaproved and ran screaming in the other direction. She wouldn't have been comfortable with the revolting anomalous witchcraft business. She wouldn't like standing in a ten mile radius of a vampire, let alone be holding hands with and kissing one.

Most of all, though, I hated doing these spells in particular. Why? Adrian had to draw on his spirit ability to be able to conduct these spells conclusively. He's practically begging the darkness to take him over with the amount he's been using lately. He thinks he's made of spirit, I've told him only a million times that he's so, so much more. If I had to make a list on the interesting things and inherent charms of Adrian Ivashkov, spirit would be the last thing on it—in fact, I'm not even sure it would make the list. He doesn't see it from my point of view, though. He doesn't comprehend how special he is. He has no idea what he means to me. He changed me, in a good way. I was boring, with a drone-like personality and bigotted thoughts back in my old life, Adrian had pulled me out of that. He'd ploughed me out of my comfort zone and pushed me into a world that I couldn't even begin to understand. He'd caught me by surprise, and I was hurtling head first out of my comfort zone and crumbling right into his world.

He'd given me a taste of the real world.

Unfortunetely or fortunetely, it wasn't enough to quench my thirst. I'd never admit it, but I was drawn to his world. To him. I wanted to drench in it, drown in it, do the backstroke in it. And if I lost him… I choked back a cough that had been building up with the pressure that the chaotic thoughts were causing inside me. My gut twisted and I winced.

Adrian frowned, concern flashing in his eyes. "You alright there, Sage?"

I nodded, gulping. We sat opposite to each other once again, crossed-legged and with our palms on our hips. There were no real supplies that were needed for this spell, thankfully. It was quite basic, actually.

"I'm fine. Listen, Adrian. I'm going to be describing exactly what this whole spell is about. Just… let me know if you follow. Got it?"

Adrian sighed, still a little dubious but eventually shrugged it off. "Aye, aye, Captain."

"The nether-realm exists beyond the physical world. Accesing it is, it's kind of like astral projection. It's very intense. We'd have to be each other's anchors, to keep us on this plane."  
Adrian furrowed an eyebrow, "Like an out of body experience?" I thought about this, then firmly nodded. "Something like that."

He smiled at me, "Bring on the fairydust, Tinkerbell."

I had to bite back a smile again. It was strange how Adrian and I had been fighting only a few minutes ago and now we were on the verge of conducting one of the most intimate spells known to witchcraft in the last few years, anyway. I knew this had to be a little hard on him, these kinds of spells…They could be freaky. I had to give him points for never letting his bravado falter. "It's not just that," I muttered, "There's more?" Adrian asked.

"I'm afraid so. You see the thing is, in order for the anchor part of the spell to work, we need to be connected. I'm not sure you would understand the scientific term, so I'll go with the one easier to digest. Our life forces, the… the energies surrounding us. Basically our auras, they have to be connected, bounded together in order to keep hold on each other so that they're firmly in place. That's why it's known as an amalgamation spell."

Adrian nodded, looking a little perspective; but he gestured for me to go on. "Binding two auras together is easier said than done. See, it can only be done if the subjects in question have shared experiences, memories and feelings of certain periods of each other's lives. Without that, there's nothing for the auras to catch a hold of and anchor on. Ever heard of the saying about someone's life flashing before their eyes? Imagine something like that. You'll be able to… experience the memory like you were actually right there with me during pivotal periods or events in my life and vice versa. This way, you will feel the emotions I went through, see the entire memory play out exactly like it did in the past, but from my perspective. Is… Is any of this making any sense to you?"

Adrian simply nodded, again, he was uncharacteriscally quiet. At this point, he didn't even have any snarky one-liners for me. That made me nervous, but I went on anyway.

"After that, once we've successfully binded our auras together, we'll be able to get closer to finding what we're looking for. Using our combined minds, emotions and memories, we'll be able to put together a pretty clear picture of what lies ahead. I believe that I received some interesting hints about what's to come in my prophetic dreams; and you did too, when our female culprit visited you in your dreams. I wish I could give you a better idea of what we're going to face, but it's all just too complicated."

I frowned, trying to read his face. Unfortunetely, his stoic expression almost rivalled my own.

"I trust you." He finally said, about a minute later.

"It's not like anything we've ever—"

"I trust you." He repeated.

And that was that. Clearly, he wasn't going to argue about this. We began the spell.

xxxxx

It was surreal.

I begun the incantation and continued to repeat it for a while, we both kept looking straight ahead. It began to affect us after the first few words. I could feel the sweat beading on my forehead, my breathing was haggered, and so was his. I concentrated on the sound of our deep breathing. My right hand traced along the carpet and suddenly left a trail of light.

The arcs of light began to close in around us, forming a perfect circle. Adrian gasped, his eyes widening. I stopped chanting. We took each other's hands and held them up, palm to palm. Our breaths were still heavy, something was coursing through us as the hoop of light began to rise. It passed over us and dissipated eventually, followed by another. And another. I looked over to Adrian, my eyes suddenly clouded with sensation. I took a sudden, startled breath and keeled backwards, a vision gripping me.

At first, everything around me was hazy and unclear, like standing on a deserted road covered in thick fog. Slowly, a few silhouettes and shapes began to appear, molding themselves into existence. Now I stood inside a room. It was spacious and looked somewhat like a dorm room. The window was open, but little sunlight streamed through. I didn't even realize that I was standing in St. Vladimir's Academy, the school for moroi and dhampirs at the Moroi Royal Court until I noticed the lavish curtains and bedsheets.

Two people were now in front of me, it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust.

Rose Hathaway and Adrian Ivashkov.

Both their expressions were wary; Adrian was sitting on her bed, watching her carefully. He had a tight smile fixed on his lips, but I could tell it was one of severe pain and resentment. "Adrian—" Rose began, but he cut her off, not letting her finish her sentence. "Let's start with this, little dhampir," he said, a little overly nicely so I could tell it was diplomatic. "Was it going on before you left Court?"

Rose's expression said it all: she was feeling guilty, but at the same time, I was pretty sure she didn't regret whatever she had done. "No. I was with you. Just you." Her voice was soft. "Well. That's something," I could tell he was about to let his guard down, his face remained calm; but I saw his mien beginning to waver. "Better some rekindling of sparks in the heat of battle or quest or whatever than you cheating right in front of me."

Suddenly, a million emotions hit me like a tidal wave. I shivered. I was angry, dissapointed, betrayed by the one that I loved so much. Wait… It wasn't me. These were the emotions Adrian was feeling at this precise moment. The ache in his chest was getting worse, his head throbbed and felt heavy from all the booze and tobacco. He felt like someone had shot him in the heart; leaving a hole where Rose once used to be. He wanted to yell at her, roar at her, make her pay for this great injustice. He wanted her to feel how horrible he felt. And at the same time, he felt like he'd known it. Somewhere deep down, at the very core of his being, he'd known that this day was an inevitable one. He'd held on with knuckles white and tight for as long as he could, and now it was finally time to let go.

But he wasn't ready.

Not ready for the pain or the agony. It wasn't fair. He could break a million hearts, and when he chose to give his away to that one special girl; she stomped on it and rendered it bruised and bloody.

Rose's face was tense. "No, I swear. I didn't—nothing happened then…not until—" It looked like she was hesitating, finding it hard to put her thoughts in words. Adrian groaned, his heart pounding inside his chest like a sick drumbeat; mocking him. "Later?" he guessed. "Which makes it okay?"

"No! Of course not. I…" she let her words trail off. She knew it. She knew how much it pained him. God, he hated her so much. This…This was all her fault. She was the reason that his life was so screwed up. She'd walked into his life, all charms and smiles; and left him begging for more. She'd destroyed his life in the process.

There was a pregnant pause before she spoke again. "I'm sorry," she said. It was the stupidest thing she could say. Didn't she know how painful it was? Couldn't she at least pretend to be more empathetic? "I'm sorry. What I did was wrong. I didn't mean for it to happen. I thought… I really thought he and I were done. I was with you. I wanted to be with you. And then, I realized that—"

Was she really about to recite her love story to him? Inconsiderate bitch. He cut her off, feeling the ache rising in his chest and making it's way to his throat. "No, no—stop." He held up his hand, his voice was tight and his walls were almost completely down now. "I really do _not_ want to hear about the great revelation you had about how you guys were always meant to be together or whatever it was." She remained quiet. Really? She didn't even bother to console him.

This was downright cruel. What had he ever done to deserve such a fate? He fell in love for the first time, he was willing to do anything for her. When he was around her, at least he could pretend to give a damn about someone other than himself. He could pretend he was a better guy than he was. And she was snatching all that away from him.

Bloody unfair.

"Really, it's my fault. It was there. A hundred times there. How often did I see it? I knew. It kept happening. Over and over, you'd say you were through with him… and over and over, I'd believe it… no matter what my eyes showed me. No matter what my heart told me. My. Fault." His voice was so unhinged it cracked in places and he'd have to swallow hard to keep from choking up. "Adrian I—"

She was not going to get away with this. How dare she do it to him. Did she even know who he was? He was Adrian Freaking Ivashkov… He didn't need her. A pit of extreme sorrow began to pool in his gut.

"I loved you!" He yelled out, not really taking a moment to think before he opened his mouth.

"I loved you, and you destroyed me. You took my heart and ripped it up. You might as well have staked me!" He grumbled. Rose looked awash with a dozen emotions, the one most prominent on her face was surprise. She was taken aback by the brunt of his words. Well… It didn't matter. She had to know how he felt!

He strode up to her, his heart literally breaking inside of him. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt this much pain in his life before this. Maybe he had. He didn't know. He wasn't thinking straight. Wait…

She HAD to know.

"I. Loved. You. And you used me the whole time." He clasped a hand over his chest, wishing that he could just stick a hand in there and pull it right out in front of him so that it would stop bloody hurting so much!

"No, no. It's not true." Rose's voice was a little conflicted now, "I wasn't using you. I loved you. I still do, but—"

Was she absolutely kidding? Had she rehersed these clichéd lines so that she could make things worse. She might as well have dropped an anvil on his head and been done with it. That would probably be less painful. This—This kind of behaviour was revolting, how could she think that saying a bunch of horse shit like that was going to make it all unicorns and butterflies again? Frigid bitch.

"Rose, come on." He couldn't believe the words falling out of her mouth any more than he could believe the words coming out of his own.

"I mean it! I do love you." He stood up, trying to look her in the eye; despite the voice in his head telling him to turn around and walk away. I looked on, trying to comfort him, but I suspected there wasn't a thing I could do. This was not Adrian; merely a ghost from a memory. I realized that I was feeling every emotion and thought going through his head. Instantly, I lost track of myself again.

"I always will, but we're not… I don't think we work as a couple."

Adrian scoffed, "That's a bullshit breakup line, and you know it." She wasn't serious, was she? He was losing his shit here, feeling like a complete idiot for not recognizing any of the hints sooner and now she was giving him one of the lamest breakup lines to grace the face of this earth. Did she really think that he was going to buy that? Did she think anyone would?

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Moron.

"I'm not… I'm not the one for you." She mumbled brusquely. Adrian looked like he'd just been slapped in the face. That stung. "Because you're with another guy?" He retorted weakly. "No, Adrian. Because… I don't. I don't know. I don't…" her stuttering was becoming borderline ridiculous and agitating his already hyperactive nerves further. His throat was starting to dry up. "I don't balance you like you need." She offered.

"What the hell does that mean?"

Adrian was starting to look dangerous, his face darkened and his eyes were wild. "The fact that you have to ask that says it all. When you find that person… You'll know."

Adrian scoffed again, feeling like she was beginning to talk a bunch of gibberish that made zero sense and held no value. How would she know! She couldn't grasp how it felt to be cheated on, betrayed, stabbed in the back, bested by some stupid Russian Overlord. He felt alone, angry at the world… at her for putting him in this position. For making him feel…

For making him feel like such a—waste, of space and time. Used, disgraced… Rose wasn't done. She just kept hitting homeruns. Back. To. Bloody. Back.

"And I know this sounds like another bullshit breakup line, but I really would like to be your friend." This had to be some sort of cosmic joke. He couldn't believe she could say something like that and keep a straight face. Friends? That would be torturous. Seeing her everyday, talking to her everyday, to know that every night she would curl up to that big, nasty… jerk. To know that she would kiss him and hold his hand and be okay with that.

He began to laugh suddenly, it sounded harsh and stale; slightly bemused. "You know what's great? You're serious. Look at your face." He gestured at her. She looked dissapointed, and bit her lip. There was concern in her eyes that proved she _did_ care about him; but it didn't matter. Not right now.

"You really think it's that easy, that I can sit here and watch your happy ending. That I can watch you getting everything you want as you lead your charmed life."

It was a harsh taunt. He sounded like he didn't want her to be happy. Which wasn't exactly true, but too many emotions—trumped by exhilarating rage, were clouding his judgement. Suddenly, Rose's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint, like anger. "Charmed!" She shouted,  
then her voice levelled down a little. "Hardly. Do you know what I've gone through in the last year?"

"And yet, here you are, triumphant after it all. You survived death and freed yourself from the bond. Lissa's queen. You got the guy and your happily ever after." He knew that he sounded like he wanted her to endure pain; well maybe he did, a little.

Rose turned back to him, her expression incredulous before she stalked away and replied, "Adrian, what do you want me to say? I can apologize forever, but there's nothing else I can do here. I never wanted to hurt you; I can't say that enough. But the rest? Do you really expect me to be sad about everything else having worked out? Should I wish I was still accused of murder?" His answer was instant, "No,"

"I don't want you to suffer. Much. But the next time you're in bed with Belikov, stop a moment and remember that not everyone made out as well as you did." He was going to push all the right buttons, prod where it hurt most. It seemed to have worked better than he'd thought. Rose winced, "Adrian, I never—" he cut her off, playing her misery to his advantage.

"Not just me, little dhampir," he added, his tone lowering. "There's been a lot of collateral damage along the way while you battled against the world. I was a victim, obviously. But what about Jill? What happens to her now that you've abandoned her to the royal wolves? And Eddie? Have you thought about him? Where's your Alchemist?"

His voice was cold again. He knew all of Rose's weak links. She was the nicest person he'd known. Considerate. Always worried about the people around her. This should hurt like a knife twisting through the gut. He hoped. Unexplicable pain crossed Rose's features before she formed the words to speak, "Victim," she said slowly, after a few minutes of utter silence.

"That's the difference between you and me."

He wanted to think up a jarring response, he wanted to make a rude joke at her expense, he wanted to say something better than the word that came out. "Huh?"

Alas, that didn't work. "What are you talking about?"

"You said you were a victim. That's why… that's why ultimately, you and I aren't matched for each other. In spite of everything that happened, I've never thought of myself that way. Being a victim means you're powerless. That you won't take action. Always… always I've done something to fight for myself… for others. No matter what."

Extreme outrage crossed his already strained features. Really? Was she actually insulting him after outrightly cheating on him? Insensitive was the least disgusting word he could think up for something like this. Rage boiled through him once again. His nostrils flared, his head spun, his eyes sharp as daggers. "That's what you think of me? That I'm lazy? Powerless?"

Rose looked confused for a second, but then seemed to make peace with something. She sighed, "No, I think you're amazing. I think you're strong. But I don't think you've realized it—or learned how to use any of that." He had the feeling she wanted to add something, but she cut off abruptly. "This," he muttered, already on the way to the door.

He couldn't even look at her anymore… and arguing on wasn't going to make him feel better, just the opposite. "was the last thing I expected. You destroy my life and then feed me inspirational philosophy."

He was almost out the door as she called out, and her words stopped him.

"I'm just telling you the truth. You're better than this… better than whatever it is you're going to do now."

His hand rested on the doorknob, he gave her a wistful glance. She wouldn't understand. Was he surprised? Hell no. Nobody ever did.

"Rose, I'm an addict with no work ethic who's likely going to go insane. I'm not like you. I'm not a superhero."

"Not yet," her voice was gentle, but he could tell that she was somehow sure of it. Adrian sighed, feeling like it was time to surrender. He gave her one, last, long glance before cutting loose forever,

"The contract's null and void, by the way."

As soon as he was out the door, the image became hazy and started to shift.


	9. 9 Quiet Little Voices

**A/N: I don't know if you guys even remember this story. I've returned from hibernation and I simply thought I'd post another chapter. If I get a little feedback (even one small review really helps motivate me, believe it or not!) I will continue posting the rest as well. I hope you guys are still interested! Here goes. :)**

**Credits: This chapter contains dialogue adapted from "Bloodlines" written by Richelle Mead.**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: **Adrian

_And you are folded on the bed,_  
_where I rest my head,_

_There's nothing I can see, the darkness_  
_becomes me_

_But I'm already there, wherever there is  
_  
_you  
_  
_I will be there, too_

* * *

I was in Sydney's bedroom.

Her bedroom was just as I'd expected: neat, clean and organized. Very Alchemist-like. But with the sunlight streaming through and highlighting all her features in a surreal beauty; I knew there was more to this girl than what met the eye.

The image shifted slightly, and her father was now standing over her bed. Sydney woke up with a haggered breath; her eyes filled with terror. She must have been having a bad dream. She looked into her father's eyes, he looked agitated. "Dad?" She muttered, trying to sound as respectful as possible even though I was pretty sure she was still half-asleep, reeling from whatever she'd been dreaming about. "Sydney. You wouldn't wake up."

He didn't even bother apologizing to her, not that it came as a surprise; he was Jared Sage after all. He didn't do apologies. "You need to get dressed and make yourself presentable," he sounded so harsh. "Quickly and quietly. Meet me downstairs in the study." Her eyes widened a little but she knew what she had to do: nod polietly and agree.

"Yes, sir. Of course."

_Sir_? She had to call her own father that? What a jackass. I couldn't believe she was as endearing as she was; being the natural product of someone as crude as that. Her dad muttered something about her sister and panic began to rise in her chest. "Zoe?" Her voice was unhinged, "What do you need her for?" He chastised her to keep her tone down, "Hurry up and get ready. And remember—be quiet. Don't wake your mother." He stomped out; shutting the door behind him. Sydney stared on at where he stood a few seconds ago.

A dozen dismal thoughts were swelling up in her. I could feel it. Her thoughts, her fears. Like I was a passenger inside of her—er, in her mind. I tried to look at my own form, but I was transparent, like a ghost. Sydney's horrors were unlimited. Re-education centers being at the top of the list. There was more of course. Fear for her sister, for her future. Fear of being condemned to one of those terrible facilities, where they sent all the alchemists who 'screwed up'. They did things to them in there; brain-washed them, until there was nothing left but empty, hollow, robot-like shells of the people they once were. Scary.

Sydney gulped, biting back all the nagging fears and thoughts. She scurried to get ready in time; still wondering why her father wanted Zoe. I wanted to focus on the way that Sydney was feeling—but I lost all train of thought for the next few seconds.

She stripped down. Right in front of me.

Of course; she didn't know I was there. Some gentlemanly part of me asked me to turn around, but all I could do was gape with my jaw dropped and my eyes wide. I'd never seen Sydney naked; not really. She was quick; unfortunetely, so I didn't get to see much. What I did see however, blew my mind. She was beautiful; I could paint a body so perfect. She was slim, a little overly slim; but I knew she was going to put on some weight soon from my coaxing. She had long legs, tender arms, her stomach was flat. I wanted to brush my knuckles over the golden hairs on it, but bawled them into fists to keep from trying it.

When she was changed; I tried to divert my mind from her naked figure. It was tough, but somehow miraculously, I managed it. She was trying to fix her hair now, frowning into the mirror. I thought they looked adorable. All dissheleved and naturally fluffy. She tried to smoothe the golden strands down a little with some hair spray before leaving it be. She was out the door in barely a few minutes.

The image shifted; and I was still scrooging it. _It's like nothing we've ever done before. These kinda spells are intimate. _I wish Sydney had emphasized on exactly how intimate. She hadn't mentioned this blast from the past detour.

A living room came into focus. It was dark, but the light making it's way through one of the doors told me it was early morning. She walked through that door and stopped abruptly at the entrance. Her father was back; eyeing her, scanning her, his eyes swivelled dangerously over her face to feet; like he had x-ray vision. He nodded in approval before opening his trap, "Sydney," he said vaguely, "I believe you know Donna Stanton."

A lady who looked as Alchemist-like as it gets stood near a window. I could tell from Sydney's thoughts that she was a formidable one, too. They were all business, looking sharp and ready for whatever they had planned. Hell, if I didn't know better, I would have thought they were a group of very well-groomed terrorists about to plant a bomb.

Sydney was getting worried again. She was afraid that these people were here because they were still upset about her role in helping Rose get away. I didn't think that was the case. It was surprising; the amount of tumultous thoughts in her head and how her face showed absolutely no sign of any of them. To any unsuspecting on looker, she would be calm and composed. The picture of confidence. Her inner thoughts told a different story; however.

Suddenly, another girl walked in. She was young, probably Jill's age and had her brown hair tied in two ponytails. She looked cute, like that girl from Alice in Wonderland. If Alice in Wonderland had brown hair and wore jeans and sweatshirts and was part of an Alchemist lineage. The girl looked afraid, trapped; overwhelmed. Her father stared at her dissapprovingly. Insantly, I felt Sydney's kind heart go out to her. "Zoe," said her father.  
Zoe cowered against her sister; and Sydney held her own, like a protective mother.

A protectice, sexy mother.

"I don't understand, Jared," Donna said, "Which one of them are you going to use?"  
She spoke so nonchalantly, she could have been talking about toothbrushes. It was disrespectful; the way they treated Sydney and Zoe like objects rather than people. "Well, that's my problem," Jared's voice was like steel. "Zoe was requested… but I'm not sure she's ready. In fact, I know she isn't. She's only had the most basic of training. But in light of Sydney's recent… experiences…"

Sydney flinched ever so slightly and her mind took off again. I felt like bawling my invisible fists again; not that I could actually do anything about this. Still, I didn't like Jared's tone. Sydney was slightly relieved, deciding that this wasn't about a re-education center after all. Thankgod. That, would have been a nightmare come true. Sydney realized that she'd been woken up for some kind of mission. She was afraid for her sister, she couldn't let them take her. Jared was right about one thing; she wasn't ready. Sydney didn't want to see her sister get into any kind of trouble. She stepped forward.

"I spoke to a committee about my actions after they happened," She explained; trying to sound as impassive as possible. "I was under the impression that they understood why I did the things I did. I'm fully qualified to serve in whatever way you need—much more so than my sister. I have a real-world experience. I know this job inside and out." I could tell she wasn't lying; she was super smart and had all the knowledge there was to know about her duty. I was surprised the Alchemists didn't worship her, some of the things she knew went even beyond their own fortes.

"A little too much real-world experience, if memory serves." Taunted Donna. There was a third person in the room now. He backed up Donna's taunts, and even made pretentious air-quotes. Sydney thankfully, was resilient. She masked her anger quite well, I would have punched these uptight, arrogant excuses for authority figures right in their smug faces.

"I understand, sir. But Rose Hathaway was eventually proven innocent of the crime she'd been accused of. So, I wasn't technically aiding a criminal. My actions eventually helped find the real murderer."

That was true. And Rose was many things, but a criminal she was not. Again, my blood boiled, along with Sydney's. The third man snorted and rambled about how it still didn't justify Sydney's actions. Sydney frankly admitted to believing Rose's innocence all along.  
"And there's the problem. You should've believed what the Alchemists told you, not run off with your own far-fetched theories. At the very least, you should've taken what evidence you'd gathered to your superiors."

I didn't like that word. 'Superiors.' It was right out of the dictionary of some condescending old bastard like this guy. Sydney's mind was racing again, she knew that it wasn't going to be simple to explain why she did what she did. She'd known it. It had been an instinct, a feeling. She also knew Rose; yes, she was a creature of the night but no, she was not a murderer. Someone who had been that kind couldn't have been. It didn't matter, though. These people wouldn't buy it. She had to feed them something that they would register.

"I… I didn't tell anyone because I wanted to get all the credit for it. I was hoping that if I unconvered it, I could get a promotion and a better assignment." She lied, cleverly. Her face showed not a hint of doubt. I was impressed.

She knew she sounded slimy and shallow, but then again who here wasn't? This was the only way they were going to let her off the hook and Sydney had to do this, take up this mission, save her sister the struggle. They all seemed to believe it; just like we expected them too. Stupid fools. Donna looked slightly doubtful, but she nodded too.

Her father said something and the third guy mumbled something I didn't bother listening to. I was too focused on Sydney. Still, my ears perked up when they mentioned something. "Re-ink Sydney," Donna mused. "Even if she doesn't go, it won't hurt to have the spells reinforced. No point in inking Zoe until we know what we're doing with her."

Sydney seemed at relief again. I was flabbergasted by the way the lady spoke about the kid, like a chess piece that she wasn't sure where to place. The other part of her sentence surprised me a little less, tattoos were the way they kept their people in line. I wanted to scream and tell Sydney not to do it, I wanted to tell her to stick one finger in the air and stomp out of this place but I knew that this was just some kind of movie reel. It wasn't the real thing. It was an event of the past, a ghost, something that had already happened.

I stayed in my position. Watching her. She had some priest-guy waiting to get her inked. He muttered a disrespectful incantation about keeping the 'taint of evil' away. I scoffed mentally. The only evil I saw in this room was them. There was a briefcase with all kinds of viles that looked like poisonous experiments straight from Frakenstein's lab. There were hazy labels on each of them, I couldn't make out the wordings.

The liquid was dark red. Like blood. I thought that was ironic.

He did his work and finally pulled out the needle. Sydney held her cheek up for him and I felt her flinch. I bet that was going to hurt. The needle prickled at her skin, and it stung. I didn't know how she beared the pain, I thought it was too much, she was strong, though. Barely felt it. It was like she was becoming numb; immune to the suffering that they brought on her.

"Can you brief us on what's happening while we're waiting?" Sydney's dad asked, his voice slightly frantic. "All I was told was that you needed a teen girl." Sydney rolled her eyes when nobody was looking at her, of course that's all he thought they were. Donna Stanton told them that they had a 'situation' with Moroi. She spoke our name with distaste, like we might as well be the Anti-Christ. I wish I could find that lady, go all Dracula on her just to freak her out. Anyway, I was now pretty sure I knew where this conversation was headed.

Sydney's thoughts were conflicted. Relieved again, that this wasn't related to Strigoi, a little afraid of what's to come. I was taken aback when she thought that we seemed human at times. I didn't think the old Sydney ever acknowledged us, apparently it was all a façade. Deep down, she knew the truth. If I'd been in corporeal form, I'd be beaming.

The third guy explained everything to the rest of them. At one point, Sydney asked them about Jill's wellbeing, I was proud, but her father threw daggers at her. Even Keith came in at one point, that glass-eyed idiot.

Finally, the image shifted and I began to see something else entirely. I almost wished I was back at the Sage home now.

I felt like I'd stumbled right out of one world and been tossed into another. I was pretty sure I was going to wake with a concussion of sorts. When I righted myself and looked around me, I felt my bones stiffen. If I even had bones... I wasn't sure how my body worked in a gaseous state.

And I was in hell.

Fires burned all around me. People running, screaming, clutching one another. Others running after them, wielding weapons of all sorts. Everything was painted in flickering shades of red and orange, gold and black. The scent of smoke, burnt wood, and flesh made the air feel thick. It was disgusting, and freaky. I was still Scrooging it here. People were running past me without ever acknowledging my existence.

That was a relief. I'd probably get blown up or shot. It looked like World War Three had broken out. I couldn't figure out why I was being shown this, or what it was. Past, present or future? I frowned slightly, walking around a little; amidst all the chaos.

"Terrible, isn't it?" I turned around so quickly my heart leapt into my throat. It was a girl... Rose? What on earth was she doing here? She looked as beautiful as ever. Her features were regal; different from Lissa's though. Lissa's were more queen-like.

Rose had the melachony beauty of a warroir.

Her long, wayward, brunette locks flapped about behind her in the wind. Her lips were pink, her eyes as precious as ever. She was dressed in a... white wedding gown? That was strange. Did that Russian Timelord finally get her to tie the knot? Despite the strange pang in my incorporeal chest that rose as I saw her, I didn't feel the pain that used to come laced with it. I was in love with Sydney now; I always would be. Sure, sometimes seeing Rose stirred up compressed feelings and old memories, but she didn't make me feel the way she used to. Sydney did that now, but it was what I felt with Rose multiplied by ten with her.

Like every part of me was set ablaze.

When my mouth finally managed to form words, I tilted my head. "What's happening, Little Dhampir? Why are we here?" She smiled; it was a sad, wistful smile. Like she knew something I didn't. "I'm not sure. I think your mind is trying to tell you something. I... I'm not actually her. I'm simply a guide."

I felt my frown deepen. I wasn't sure I was registering a word that she was saying. She spoke up again, like she had read my mind. "The world is a funny place, isn't it? Humans are too busy looking at the big picture to notice the little things. Silly, each and every one of them. Blind to the dangers that lurk in the shadows. Gripped by denial and unfazed by the terrors that they face ahead; they can only absorb what their compact little minds can register. Anything beyond that..." Her voice trailed off. "And still, they fight. They hold their own. They latch on to each other like leeches; vowing to face death in order to save their puny little race; the ones they love... Love is a complex thing, you see. It can heal and it can bruise. It can mend a wound; but it can also be the one inflicting the pain. It's one of the less narcissistic things about your species."

The only thing that I could comprehend right now was that the way she was talking hinted that she wasn't a human. I groaned, "Okay, so you're definitely _not_ Rose. What the hell are you talking about? If... if you aren't human than what are you? And why are you showing me all this?" Rose sighed, shaking her head, then she grabbed my hand. It was stone cold, like a brick on a sleet covered wall. Suddenly, the pandemonium dissipated and was replaced by a dozen something people. Their faces were sullen, they looked... they all looked dead. Like zombies. Their eyes were endless and shallow, staring into nothing. Their clothes were torn and their bodies bruised. Some were worse than others. Few had broken limbs and impaled chests. I recognized someone within the midst and my breath caught. It was the girl I'd saved. Tessa... was her name? She had a wiper sticking out of her chest and her head was bleeding. My heart started to pound.

"But..." my voice failed me. Dead Tessa was staring blankly at me, but the expression on her face was like a ghost of a smile; like she was taunting me. "I saved you!" I exclaimed. Dead Tessa did not reply and dread began to creep it's way up my spine.

"Stop it!" I growled, "I don't want to see all this." Rose didn't budge, "You have to see it. You have to face the truth. You know that she doesn't belong in your world; not anymore." I felt like my entire body was going to turn to liquid and I saw red. "You don't understand. I had my reasons!" Rose's voice remained neutral. "I'm sure you did. Come..." Again, she grabbed my hand and our surroundings began to change.

This time the vision was strong and the light in front of us was so bright it was blinding. "Am I dead? Is this the light at the end of the tunnel? Am I going to have to watch my life flash before my eyes, because I don't think I'm ready for that." I mumbled earnestly, Rose shook her head; like one does in front of a toddler who doesn't understand the world.

"Don't be so naive, Adrian. You know exactly why I am here." I bit my lip.

_No, I don't. If I did, I wouldn't be losing my freaking mind._

"So what are you supposed to be, exactly? The Grim Reaper? The Spirit Guide to the Underworld? A Death-Eater? Look, I don't know what you want or why I'm here but it would be great if you let me in on the magic show!" I grumbled, Rose once again, seemed oblivious to my issues. She just pointed, "Look."

So I swiveled my head to the other side. It was her. It was her in all her ice cold glory.  
Her hair was white like a dozen icicles, her eyes like a frozen pond on a cold winter night. There was this joke about a woman being so beautiful that it hurt. This was the same thing; but not in the good sense. There was pain engraved into her beauty. Laying eyes upon her made my entire body rigid and suddenly I felt like I was sleeping on a bed of spikey needles.

She was laughing, and everything around us began to change again. She stood in an endless empty desert. Both the moon and the sun were up high in the sky, and her eyes were closed; like she was asleep. Literal sparks of energy emanated from her essence. Like she was made of power. "She was once a human being too; like you. Power and ego corrupted her. She had more of it than a mere human body can handle... It ruined her. Now... She is like poison. A ticking time bomb that when exploded, will obliterate everything in its path. Causing destruction and disarray." Rose mumbled softly, her eyes narrowed.

"That's what you were showing me, wasn't it? You were showing me what will happen if she... succeeds with whatever she's planning." Rose turned to me, her face slightly incredulous, then the expression shifted... she looked sympathetic. "Oh, she's already succeeded. Half of the process is complete. However; time remains... She can be stopped."  
I looked at the sleeping demon, "What is she?"

"She's countless things. A demon, a witch and... she believes she is a goddess. While this is not true; she wields such power that she might as well be one. When she became extremely powerful. She was... banished from the village she came from. Frowned upon, rendered a monster and an abomination. Exiled from the world. A long time ago."

"She whispered to me, something about the end." I explained, Rose nodded.

"That's what she said she was. The end. She's not powerful enough yet, to break-free from wherever she's been, but somehow she's crossed paths. She causes storms and insanity. She plans to absorb all elementic magic, use it to break free. If she does this, your world as you know it will break into absolute chaos and crumble into nothingness."

I gulped, this sounded like something out of a science fiction movie. We'd faced lots of insane stuff over the past year, even with Rose back at St. Vladimar's, I'd seen some things I could live without seeing. However... This... This was something else. A whole new level of crazy.

"How do you expect us to stop it? I'm nothing, I'm an addict, Rose. And a spirit user who is probably going to lose his mind very soon... I-I can't..." She shushed me, raising a cold finger to my lips. "It's inside you. Inside both of you. You are strong enough and... I... I believe our time is up. I wish I could stay, tell you more but this is all I've gotten. It was difficult to catch a hold of you, but luckily, your girl is intelligent. This spell might as well have saved your lives. I would tell you more but..." I couldn't catch the rest of what she was saying, her image flickered like bad TV reception, and so did everything surrounding us.

"Ivy!" She screamed as she dissapeared into the darkness till their was nothing left. Slowly, my own body started to flicker and...

I broke out of the trance with a gasp.

I was panting when I was dumped back into reality. Beads of sweat stroked my forehead and my vision was slightly blurry. The rest of me felt light, like I was weightless. My hands fell loose and numb to my sides, my throat was starting to dry up and I had to choke back a cough. I looked up at Sydney; she looked worse. I felt my heart leap as I looked upon her face.

I'd seen things. Stuff I probably shouldn't have seen... about her life. I'd felt the pain, the agony, the heartache, the nervousness and the trauma that came with every pivotol or traumatic event in her life. It was like I'd hitched a ride into her soul. It wasn't fair, of course. To her. There were certain... boundaries and limits to one's existence. A reason why things were kept private. And yet, I'd seen it all, experienced it all. I wasn't sure if there was anything I could say or do, to make her feel better, so I bit back any quips or one-liners because for once, my mind was blanking out. _The spell works both ways. _She'd seen it too, experienced everything I'd felt; in high definition. She probably knew me better than Jill did now. I knew that I was supposed to be afraid, nervous, angry even. All I felt was relief.

Like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.

And Sydney. God, I understood her now. The parts of her being that I thought I'd never get a hold on, I registered them. I could see why she reacted in certain ways, I could believe why she behaved the way she did sometimes. Even the little things about her that sometimes agitated me now made perfect sense. I saw... clarity in who she was. She had so much love and warmth in her heart. Trust didn't come to her easily, her father being the root of this trait. She would crawl to the ends of the earth for the people that she loved. She stood up to what she believed was right. She was inquisitive, imaginative, genius. So many thoughts and feelings... a tornado of them, just gathering on inside of her. She had so many questions and even more answers. Reading had always been a passion; she was very insecure. Afraid of so much but capable of absolutely anything when she put all her energy into something. I even felt it. What was going through her head and heart when she was leaving me behind for Mexico... I'd seen what she'd gone through and it was... almost as painful as how I'd felt. Now I felt my heart breaking all over again. It wasn't out of self-pity. This time, it was for her.

It had been an impulsive decision, sure but she'd had her reasons. I could only admire her more now, I could feel my mind conjuring only the utmost respect for Sydney Katherine Sage. She really was the beautiful, vibrant soul I'd always thought she was. But there were other things too. She was brave, independent... She'd seen things a girl her age wasn't meant to see. She was only starting out in life but she'd learnt so much. Yet, she was strong, standing up with her tiny blonde head perked up a little higher every time she got kicked down. It was breathtaking. Like a revelation.

I'd lived in the delusion that I knew this girl from head to toe. I'd been wrong.

There was so much going on in that pretty mind of hers. So many things I couldn't even believe. She'd let me in, let me see... Her deepest fears, her innermost thoughts, the way she felt about... us. And I loved her. God, I loved her so much. I felt like my heart had grown a few sizes to make space for all the adoration I had for this one person. The thing was, she loved me, too. In her heart of hearts, she had the same feelings for me that I did for her. She'd been worried absolutely sick about me these past couple of weeks, and now I felt like I needed to ease her pain; reassure her that I was going to be okay. For once, I believed my own words.

I was going to be okay.

I was going to work through my doubts and my fears. I was going to walk through hell and back with a bloody smile on my face, I'd take anything spirit threw my way.

For... her. To be hers.

I looked into her amber eyes, they were the color of freshly ground honey; tears were welling up in them. Her chest was still heaving, her cheeks hollow and sucked in, she looked overcome with utter fatigue. The spell had worn her out. Her pouty lips parted ways, and she finally managed to speak through the haggered breaths.

"This," her voice was low, "Never happened."

I nodded, not that I believed the words about to come out of my mouth, but I couldn't help it. I needed to reassure her, nod along for the first few minutes. I knew how she must be feeling now, I could assess it all in my mind. She must be overwhelmed, afraid, she must feel violated and upset. So I simply nodded. _Yep. _

"Never happened."

xxxxx

I was staring at a blank canvas again.

Rowana had called earlier today, with more assignments from class that I had to attend to. For once, though, I was filled to the rim with some serious inspiration. Only... I was having a difficult time putting my thoughts into paint strokes. Mrs. Valentine is the Art teacher from Hell. All her assignments are so complicated and hard to work with. "Painting is a form of art, a way to express yourself in a world where it's absolutely impossible for one to do so. Think of the world as your canvas, keep a paintbrush in your pocket; wherever you go. Paint the town red, colour the skies a brilliant navy blue and let your creativity shine!" She'd ramble on fanatically. It was creepy, really, when the lady talked about art. She'd get this look in her eyes and... and - sometimes there was drool.

I shuddered at the thought, staring at the empty aquarium that sat atop the cabinet opposite to my bed. Huh. I hadn't expected to miss Hopper so much, I guess I'd grown attached to the little guy. I could almost hear it... his screeching. Sydney had taken him back with her earlier today, speaking of her... We hadn't spoken since we'd packed up after the spell. I wanted to give her some space, we could talk tomorrow. It's not like we had a choice. Rose, my spirit guide - whatever, had warned me about what was to come. I could still remember the way she was yelping 'Ivy! Ivy!'.

I wanted to puzzle out what it meant, but my mind was taking off again. I groaned, suddenly feeling a little testy, I pushed the canvas away and capped the lids of the open paint bottles lying around, without bothering to clean up my mess, I stood up and walked over to my liquor cabinet. I stared at it longingly for a few seconds, debating whether or not to go down that road. I was trying to cut back, I'd been drinking a little too much eversince Sydney had left me and now that she was back I knew that I had to try and remain focused but not just for her, for myself as well.

I didn't think Sydney wanted to get stuck with a mental patient for a boyfriend.

I sighed, managing somehow to temporarily repress my alcohol urges and laying down on my bed. I looked up at the ceiling for a while. That spell had been extremely surreal, seeing Rose like that... And the fate of the world if whatever it was that this goddess person was trying to achieve actually worked... God, I'll admit I've seen some twisted shit in my life, but this takes the Nobel Prize for twisted. And then there was Sydney herself. Was I ever going to lose interest in her? Unlikely. Was she going to make my life or break it? I scoffed internally, only a few hours ago, I had decided that I would keep ahold on myself, but clearly, the pessimistic, neurotic part of me was still stuck to my brain like a leech. I thought about texting her, but then decided against it. Before she left, I used to have a habit of sending her random texts throughout the day, fantasy escape plans of how the two of us could runaway together. They were lame, but they made her laugh.

So instead of texting Sydney, I texted Rowena: _Want to head out 2night ?_ She replied a minute or so later: _Can't. Got coursework to complete. U ok_ ? I sighed, tossing my phone away, not even bothering to respond. Not that I'd ever tell Sydney, even if she already knew now thanks to that spell; but my mood swings were getting worse by the minute. Spirit's effects were starting to worsen too, eversince I'd brought that girl back from the brink of death. I'd known it when the idea had dawned upon me, I'd known it when I was doing it -the price that I would have to pay for it. But I kept feeling like it was worth it, at the end of the day. Isn't it a small price to pay for something as miraculous as saving someone's life? I knew Sydney didn't think so, but I did.

_Spirit is not all bad, is it? _No. No. Not her. No, God. Please no. It was another secret I'd kept from Sydney, how in my darkest moments lately, I imagined conversations with my dead aunt. Tatiana's voice literally spoke to me inside my head, and the ghastly thing about it was that it sounded exactly like her. It was one of the most terrifying things that had ever happened to me because while certain actions might be jokingly called crazy, there was no question that imaginings of ghosts actually were crazy. "Go away, Aunt Tatiana," my voice was hesitant, and I knew it. _I've missed you, my dear boy. _I cringed, bringing my knees up to my chest and hugging them. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," I said dryly. "So please just... Leave me alone." I thought that if Aunt Tatiana's ghost was in a physical manifestation, she would be chukling right now. _You needn't be afraid of me, sweetling._

I was afraid. I was scared out of my mind. Aunt Tatiana would always hold a special place in my heart, her tragic death had come as a hefty shock to everyone, but it had almost destroyed me. She had been the one person who believed in me even when others didn't, she always told me that she saw the beauty in me; whatever that meant. Point was, she was the family that I had procured and then lost, the only person I truly loved in such a respect before Jailbait showed up. My parents were never much of a family to me, girls came and went, Aunt Tatiana, she'd been a constant. She pampered me and gave me wise words of advice, she came off to a lot of people as cold, narcissistic and aloof, I recalled; thinking of Rose's erstwhile hatred towards her. What they didn't know about her was that she was kind, loving and regal, I wasn't just saying this because she was my aunt, I truly believed that despite the facade she wore; she was a great queen. And then someone had to go ahead and kill her. Not just _anyone_, someone I knew. Christian's aunt if we were being precise... Before my blood started to boil, I leapt off the bed and stomped over to my restricted liquor cabinet in defeat. A voice inside my head that thankfully wasn't Aunt Tatiana but sounded too much like Sydney's told me not to; but I couldn't help myself.

I had to shut her out. Aunt Tatiana wasn't talking to me. This was not real. It's all been in my head, a delusion.

_Are you sure about that? _I groan as I struggle to open the cabinet with trembling hands, "What do you want?" She is quiet for a moment. _Oh, I think you know the answer to that. _"Now if I did, I wouldn't be talking to myself like a fool! Would I?" I growl, with as much repulsion as I can conjure as I finally manage to swing it open. I grab the first bottle I see and chug it down. I take languid sips, the warm of the alcohol burns my throat in that familiar way until it settles in my stomach. I only stop chugging to breathe and then continue till I'm down more than half of it. _I'm still here. _Tatiana taunted. "Yeah," I muttered, as I walked in a slight daze, back to my bed. "But not for long."

I took another swing. A smaller amount, this time. _You can't run away forever, my darling boy. You know that. _I gasped, almost choking on my drink. That sounded less like Aunt Tatiana and more like... her. Suddenly, it struck me. "Ivy?" I asked, maybe that was the bitch's name. _Took you long enough. _"So Aunt Tatiana - It was all you. All this time? How... How are you getting into my head?" _I am your Aunt Tatiana, child. You are in danger. I have been trying to warn you since I first came to visit, but you don't respond to my signals at all. You can block me out with a single malt whiskey; but you cannot block her out. When she comes. Not even with the world's largest supply of liquor. _I could literally feel the hairs on my skin stand on end. I felt like screaming, trapped in my own head, unable to do anything about it. I groaned, clutching my head and banging my own fists against it. "Go away!" I yelled, "Go away!"

"Adrian?" I rolled around on the bed, still clutching my head and groaning. "Oh, and now you sound like Sydney. Stop it! Leave me alone, Aunt Tatiana! And... whoever you are! Get _out_!" Suddenly, there's a small intake of breath, like a sudden exclamation. "Adrian," her voice is gentler now. I freeze. It's her. She's actually here. Shit.

She walked over to me; tenderly taking my wrists and placing my hands back down to my sides. She sat down next to me then, and ran a finger down my cheek, I winced at the small shiver it sent down my spine. Her eyes were full of so much emotion that I couldn't stand to look into them. "Hey, look at me," her voice was soft. I couldn't do it, though. "Look at me, Adrian." She repeated. Finally, I managed to meet her eyes; but I couldn't look into them for long, because my head was starting to spin. "You'll be okay..." She muttered, registering my semi-drunken state. I didn't realize it, but the booze's effects were starting to affect me. My eyes were getting heavier, and my chest ached. I could still hear her, inside my head; but having Sydney sitting down so close to me with that distressed look on her face... I managed to shut most of what she was saying out.

I could feel my chest heaving as I tried to control my breathing, still not looking into her eyes. For a minute, none of us spoke. We just sat there. I, reeling over Aunt Tatiana's surreal words and booze while she just stared at me, contemplating what to do. She must have figured it out though, because to my surprise, she flung her arms around me and gave me a big bear hug. I breathed into the fabric of her shirt as my mouth rested against her shoulder; she smelt like coconut shampoo. She patted my back with one hand, and stroked my hair with the other. I was quite frankly floored, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect out of her after our little 'experience' together. This was better than I was hoping for.

I knew that I must be looking like a mess, I was unravelling and she was witnessing it. I didn't like it. Her being able to see me like this, but at the same time, thinking about the journey that she must have had through my thoughts and memories and emotions... Maybe it didn't matter anymore. I calmed down a little, I was pretty sure she could smell the booze off of me but she didn't say a word about it. I hung on to her for a few more dizzying seconds, clinging to her arms, to the soft fabric of her shirt. Simply relishing in the fact that I had someone to hold onto. Like an anchor that was keeping me from the madness that awaited me.

"It's okay," she murmured, her voice was soft but distant. I flinched. She probably felt me stiffen, "It's okay." she repeated. I took a deep breath as we broke the embrace. My bones ached for more contact, but I kept my distance, burying my head into my hands and striving to calm my racing nerves. The voices were gone. Aunt Tatiana was gone.

For now.

xxxxx

"What did you see, Adrian?" Jill looked tense.

The next day, Jill had come over to check on me after Sydney had briefly explained the events of last night, I'd told her not to elaborate, the last thing any of us wanted for Jailbait was for her to get all worried about me and flunk at school. The thing was, she probably would have found out without Sydney's witness reports as it is. I sighed, she'd traipsed over here the first thing after school. I'd been working on my stupid art assignments again, and drawing a blank as usual. "Lots of things," I told her thoughtfully, busting open a can of soda pop and handing it to her as I made my way back to the couch. "Adrian, I need more details than that." Jill pointed out. I smirked. "Go back to worrying about boys and nailpolish colours, Jill. I don't think 'insightful' is a good colour on you."

She gave me a look. One that told me she was not going to be taking any of my sharp wit today. It was sad, too - I had jokes lined up for this particular conversation. I sighed, finally; in defeat. Sometimes, I despised the power this little girl had over me, other times, I knew that maybe it was the only thing that kept me going.

"Rose was there, well not Rose in the flesh, anyway. She said she was some kind of... spirit guide, I don't know." I began, Jill nodded, taking a quick sip of her drink before setting it down on the table in front of her and crossing her arms over her chest; fixing her full attention on me. "She spoke to me about the witch or whatever it is we are dealing with. It's not something I want to tell you but -" she cut me off at that. "You have to stop coddling me, Adrian. I can take care of myself. I'm already in too deep in all of this, there's no coming back from that. I can handle a little gore, okay? Just be honest with me." She deadpanned.

"She told me that we aren't just dealing with something strong, we are dealing with something ancient and powerful. Something that's been rumored witch, demon, sorceress. Countless things, Jailbait. Creepy things. I'm not sure what everything Rose told me meant, but I can tell you one thing... Even Voldemort would be shaking in his boots." Jill frowned, looking more perplexed than afraid. I admired it, her courage and her understanding. It wasn't a trait young girls her age possessed quite frankly.

"No wonder she's able to manipulate elements such as the weather," Jill murmured. I nodded in agreement, "I did find out one thing though, which might be useful. I think her name is Ivy." Jill perked up at that. "Really? That's great news! I'm sure Mrs. Terwilliger and Sydney will know what to do with that information! Maybe they have books on her. Don't... Don't they say that names have power?" She wondered aloud, her eyes sparkling with exhilaration. I chuckled softly, "Whoa, hold your horses, Jailbait. I wouldn't get my hopes too up, this is just a random conclusion I've drawn. Whether it's accurate or not... I'm not really sure." Jill dismissed my words with a wave of her hand, "It doesn't matter. It's _something._ Something that we can work with. And stop selling yourself short, you're a smart guy."

I couldn't help but smile at her. You could count on Jill to make your day. "You've done all kinds of heroic things this past year, starting with saving my life. Don't forget that." She said. I sighed at her words. I didn't feel very heroic, what I did was all pure instinct - and I felt like resurrecting Jill was a selfish thing considering I needed her so much. Heroes were selfless, brave and relentless. I was none of those things. I couldn't help but feel extremely guilty. Jill counted on me, so did Sydney. They believed in me. So much... And I kept letting them down, over and over again. Last night, I broke again and chugged down over half a bottle of alcohol, I wasn't doing so good on the archaic knight front, and I knew it.

I didn't like it. People having expectations of me, expectations always led to disappointment. I knew that better than anyone. There was a reason I never bothered to let anyone see the good in me, I didn't want to have to live up to anyone's expectations. But now... things were changing. I had people in my life that I cared about, people I loved. People whose hearts would break if they saw me fail.

"I'm not a hero." I concluded. "No, you're not. But you don't have to be. You are a good person, with a pure heart. Anyone who knows you well enough can see it. I think that's all someone needs to really make a change in the world." She went on. I grinned at her, my heart simultaneously melting.

"Go compose a sonnet, Jailbait."


	10. Broken Things

**A/N: I know. I know. Yet another super late update. I am going to continue to post this story because I hate to leave stuff unfinished, even if my audience is limited, I appreciate the readers who are still interested and who took the time to review that last chapter. I will try to be more regular in my updates from now on, I promise! Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. :)**

**P.S : Please Review? xx**

* * *

**Chapter Ten:** Sydney

_Like a wall of stars,  
__  
We are ripe to fall  
_

* * *

There was hot chocolate, ice scraper sales and snow angels.

Everywhere.

People were adjusting to the new climate, admiringly faster than I'd thought. Things didn't look half as miserable as they had only three days ago. I didn't know if this was the human race's natural ability to be in denial or just them trying to make the best out of a dismal situation; whatever it was... it was working.

As I walked down the now snow covered streets of a brave new Palm Springs, I had to keep tugging at my jumper to keep from frostbite. I was on my way to Mrs. Terwilliger's house, who was back from her impromptu New York tour and ready to get back to business. I'd just gotten done with the last class for the day at Amberwood, they had cut all periods short to accommodate to the surreal weather conditions. The snow was stubborn and thick, it seemed to be getting worse everyday. I sighed as I looked around me, being careful not to slip and fall on my behind. There were kids running around in winter gear, throwing snowballs at each other and grinning madly; people scraping ice out of their front lawns, cars driving painfully slow to keep from skidding. There were posters on some of the walls, advertisements selling sweaters and cocoa powder and whatnot.

It was all a bit too strange for a tropical summer destination such as this one.

The world was already changing itself - modifying, trying to brace for Ivy's impact. Whatever that was. After another few twists and turns, I was at Mrs. T's apartment, the gang had already made themselves comfortable. Neil and Angeline sat together, munching on jelly donuts on the couch. Eddie stood by the door, as if guarding it. Mrs. T was busy writing something down, a pencil stuck in her hair. Jill was looking out the window wearing a cute grey sweater and sipping on coffee. Adrian sat on the chair opposite to Mrs. T's; he had propped his legs up on the table. He looked lost in thought, like frozen in a bittersweet reverie.

Our eyes met. I passed him a small smile as I walked in. He returned it. After that surreal spell I could barely form two words in front of him without stammering. The only time I'd broken that was when I'd walked into Adrian's room to talk to him about what I'd seen and instantly pulled him towards me. He had looked so broken and... lost. I couldn't help it.

He had been drunk. But he'd also been blabbering things, I shuddered at some of the words I had caught. Had he mentioned his dead aunt? I sighed, he'd needed it, at the time. The comfort, the warmth of another human being. But after he'd drifted off to sleep, which didn't take much time in his fatigued condition, I'd slipped right out of his room.

And eversince then, things were back to the silent treatment with the two of us. We couldn't seem to look at one another without the memory of being bound so tightly that we'd been in each other's minds, hearts... I was sure I'd touched his soul, even. Something inside me stung whenever I remembered the way he had looked right before the spell. In the faint gleam of the candlelight, his green eyes could tell dissertations...

"Sydney!" Angeline had made her way up to me and was now snapping her fingers in front of my face. "Can I slap her?" She asked, "Sometimes in movies when they go all still, they slap 'em!" She concluded, shrugging. I took a cauious step away, Mrs. T glared.

Finally I rolled my eyes, trying to steer my mind away from all of those thoughts and focusing on what was happening in the present. I smiled at Mrs. T, gathering all the strength I could muster at the moment. "I'm glad to have you back." She smiled calmly, "Ah, yes. Well it is wonderful to see all of you, too. I have so much to tell you all! But first, I'd like to know if all of you completed the tasks you had been given?"

We all nodded obidiently. Mrs. T raised an eyebrow at me, "You conducted the spell successfully?" Adrian scoffed, "Success would be an understatement. Passed it with flying colours, more like." Mrs. T looked doubtful, "Really? What information did you gather?"

Again, our eyes met, and some kind of telepathic understanding seemed to have been made. We explained everything that was related to Ivy, but kept the rest of our experiences sealed away deep in our brains. That was private information. Adrian explained his encounter with Rose, mine had been similar, but my guide had been my mother, for some reason. She had shown me what the world would look like if Ivy's plans worked. She also kept warning me that I had 'farther to go' and 'lots to do'. Tons of surreal rambling that I did not register. It was almost like my strange dream.

She had mentioned some other fairly unpleasant stuff about our big bad foe, however. Mrs. Terwilliger's preceding words only confirmed my fears. "I spoke to the elder witch with the ancient roots, the one I told you all about, and she had some striking information..." Eddie frowned, "Did you learn anything important? Can I fight her?"

"I don't know," Mrs. T admitted. "She's variously attributed as having incredible strength, speed, et cetera - much like a very powerful Strigoi, although she prefers not to engage in physical confrontations. There's some indication that either she's a shapeshifter, or that she can cast illusions and glamours. She possesses some control over the elements, ice, wind, water and air. And she wants more. She wants to consume all the Moroi magic and she plans to use spirit as her ultimate weapon. She's also a powerful telekinetic. She could probably stop you in your tracks, then toss you around like a beachball without - without even lifting a finger."

For a few minutes, there was complete silence.

"That's reassuring." Angeline muttered dryly. "Found out about the telekinesis thing the hard way," Adrian said, probably thinking back about the time she had literally frozen him in place during his 'dream' rendezvous with her. "What about things that damage her? Enchanted weapons? Something? There has to be... something." I offered.

Mrs. T looked rueful. "I do not know of such a thing yet. I have my entire coven on research. Viable information is scarce and far between." I sighed, getting a better look at her for the first time since she was back. God, she looked terrible. Worse than she did last time. Her hair was messier than usual, her glasses lay crooked atop her nose, she had bags under her tired eyes and her face was all... droopy. She looked worn out, like she hadn't slept in days. Thinner too, slightly pale, sullen... sickly. I frowned.

"Mrs. Terwilliger, have you been using magic?" I had to ask. Her mouth opened to speak, then closed again. I had a feeling she wanted to dodge this string of conversation, but the determined expression that I felt like I was wearing probably stopped her from that. "I have been working. The witches in my coven and I have been working on something. A wall of magic. It's basically like a shield. Clearly, whatever she has been doing, her target or source of power is right here in Palm Springs. The shield won't keep her off our backs forever, but it will restrain her temporarily."

"Oh, wonderful," Angeline said. "So we aren't stopping the apocalypse, just postponding it." Eddie shot Angeline a sharp look and immediately, she bit her tongue. "Sorry." Mrs. T sighed, taking a seat on the chair from where she had stood up to greet us and began polishing her glasses again. "No, it is true. The wall is draining much out of us, I am afraid."

There was pain shooting through my chest. I knew that my affiliation with Mrs. T had been purely business, but I felt respect for the older woman. And... I cared about her. "How long will the wall hold?" I questioned. She looked dubious, "A week. A week and a half, at best." I bit into the side of my cheek to keep from bawling my palms into fists. "What if I help? I'm younger than most of your coven sisters. Maybe you could teach me the spell."

Mrs. T shook her head vigorously, signalling for Jill to hand her the cup of coffee she was drinking. Jill didn't even hesitate to hand it to her. She probably finished the rest of the cup before looking back at me. "No, I'm afraid your efforts are needed elsewhere, Miss Melrose." I nodded no, "But it's draining your powers! It's making you weak. Maybe I could do better!"

"It doesn't matter child. You have plenty of other tasks. You needn't worry." She reassured me. Too bad I wasn't in the mood to be that considerate. I couldn't believe how much it was taking out of her. "I will be fine," she repeated, "In fact, I will probably need your services again soon. How often can you children come here?"

"We can come between classes!" Jill suggested, excited. I nodded along. "Usually I use that time to copy over my class notes with a system of different colored pens, but it's been pointed out to me that that's a little insane. So..."

"I said 'quirky'," Adrian pointed out. Everyone chuckled lightly, even under all the tension.

Somehow, even Mrs. T was repressing a smile. "Great..." her cellphone begun to ring. "I have to take this, I'm afraid, but we can continue this meeting tomorrow for sure. There are a few more matters that we must... clear up." With that, she picked it up and excused herself.

Everyone knew that it was their cue to leave.

xxxxx

Nobody seemed to want to stick around after all the dissapointing news. I didn't think I was going to be able to, either. Quite frankly, my stomach twisted into a knot everytime I thought about this whole Ivy predicament. We were a bunch of amateurs, if ancient witches and experienced covens couldn't muster the power it took to wipe her out... How did I stand a chance? We weren't enough, Adrian and I.

We weren't even on talking terms, not exactly, anyway. I sat curled up on Mrs. T's table, reading one of her books, Jill and the rest had taken a ride home with Neil, who now had the permission to drive. It was a good thing, too. Whenever I was busy, I think Adrian was having a tough time lugging everyone around. I was hesitant at first; handing the keys to my brand new car to Neil, but I managed to convince myself that he would take utmost care and gave it to him despite my doubts.

I'd stuck around to continue some research, not that I'd found anything. Surprisingly, Adrian had followed suit. Mrs. T was out buying magical supplies and meeting up with her coven sisters, so the two of us were alone in her house. We were supposed to lock up and leave when we were done. He was sprawled out on the couch behind me, a black cat was nibbling at the hem of his t-shirt. He held a book at his chest, keeping it upright with the help of his chin; and although to someone else he probably looked engrossed in the book... I caught all the stolen glances coming my way.

I sighed, we had been trying to research for over an hour and a half now, and still somehow we were coming up empty-handed. I groaned, slamming one of the books shut and picking up another at the top of the other piles that awaited me. I yawned.

"You're allowed to take a break, you know," Adrian's voice was neutral, but he sounded genuine. "I can take over for a bit." Those were probably the longest two sentences that he had spoken to me in the last four days. I bit my lip, I was tired and I knew it, but I also knew him very well. "You hate to read." I reminded him.

He sighed, shaking his head like I was a toddler who didn't understand the ways of the world. "That's true, Sage. All these big, dusty books give me a headache. But tonight I'm determined and if I have to beat the answers out of one of these pages, so help me, I will." He delivered the words with his trademark lazy grin, but I could feel it, the utter vigor that sparked within him.

"Why?" I squeaked, afraid of his answer. He took his time with the response. "I don't know. I've personally experienced the Hell Bitch's many charms, and I like our world the way it is; averting the apocalypse sounds like the smart thing to do. Plus, wouldn't I look great on the cover of Forbes magazine? Say if we do manage to save the world and all." His eyes gleamed. "We could be on Ellen! We could meet Oprah!" I stifled a chuckle. "Down boy." I mumbled. He gave me a toothy grin, it was so warm and so Adrian...

I smiled a little, some of the tension that had so evidently built up between us eversince we'd cast that spell seemed to abate a little. I finally stood up, stretched and then shut all the books. I stuffed some of the important ones in my bag for later reference, and picked out a few for Adrian to sift through, too. "Let's go," I told him, glancing at the window. "It's getting quite dark. I have a feeling we're headed for a storm."

Despite all his keenness, I could tell that he was almost as worn out as I was. His eyes glittered, "Thought you'd never say that. This house is starting to give me the creeps." He shot off the couch, and we were out the door within seconds.

xxxxx

The weather was worse than I'd thought.

It had gotten nastier all day, with storm clouds blanketing the sky and a bone chilling wind coming out of the north. The scent of coming snow made the air smell strange and no one seemed to want to be outdoors. Except us, of course. I was wearing a thick jumper and a scarf as well, I was thoroughly bundled up. Still, I couldn't shake the goosebumps going up and down my spine. I rubbed my palms together. We had to walk the way home, since the car was with the rest of the gang.

It was downright gelid and extremely depressing. It didn't feel real, it all felt a bit too unnatural; wrong. Adrian was lighting a cigarette. He looked ghastly pale in the surreal weather, his cheeks slightly sullen - snatched of their natural glow. I coughed, swatting at the smoke as he breathed out. "Sorry," he muttered, "I just needed it today. I've been trying to cut down, I swear."

I bit my tongue, but the words were already out. "I understand." Adrian stopped dead in his tracks and I had to turn around swiftly to make sure I hadn't lost him in the fog. "What?" I tilted my head, "You've been acting so different lately. You used to get mad at me for these kinds of things and now, you'll just dismiss them. The other day, you didn't get upset even though I was so drunk I could barely stand. And then again now, with the cigarette. You've been weird, Sage. Ever since that... Night."

I sighed. What was I supposed to tell him? That I _did _feel like I could understand him after the things I'd seen? There were periods of his life that had been so... dark. Nobody deserved that kind of pain. And he carried it along with him, all day, everyday. But nobody would know.

Nobody would know how courageous and strong he was. For being able to keep all those tumultuous emotions bottled up inside like that, I was astonished he didn't spontaneously combust. There was so much, so much emotion warring on inside of him. So much gloom and despair... "It comes with the Adrian Ivashkov package. Free for all." He'd once told me. I'd laughed it off then, but it was true. The side of the coin that he didn't see, however, was the side that I saw. He also had other quality traits within him. So much love, warmth and compassion.

It was suffocating him.

He had all these constant insecurities. Born in a wealthy family who saw him as more of a nuisance than a son, dumped by the first girl that he had given his heart, body and soul to; and the darkness. The darkness that rested inside of him that came enlaced with his spirit ability. Spirit was his escape sometimes. But he knew that it would eventually drive him mad. He didn't care about that, though. Because he thought that he was doing the world a favor. He thought that using his powers to save the lives of others was all the good he'd ever do.

And he was so wrong.

He was intelligent and creative and... he had an electric soul. He wanted to leave a mark on the world, but due to the circumstances, he eventually had to adapt. Which was why he relied on his cigarettes and his alcohol. He needed something. Not only to snuff out the spirit; but to numb the pain and the agony and the heartbreak.

I understood him now. So well. It was hard to meet his eyes without bursting into tears. I had been neglecting my feelings ever since I'd come back to Palm Springs, but I couldn't do that any longer. That spell had not only brought old feelings swimming back to the surface; it had also created more.

Only love swelled up in my heart for him when I looked at him. It was difficult, to see him as a person that was individual and not truly attached to me. Because I'd felt it. Like he had been connected to me, like he had been a part of me. I didn't believe in soulmates and prince charmings; but Adrian was becoming something so much more.

He was turning into a part of who I was. My anchor. The ticking clock that always kept me going. My reminder. One that kept me grounded. My home. Someone who I felt safe with; when I was with him, it was like I was at peace. And... my friend. Someone who had watched out for me, took care of me, etched me on when I was down...

"I argued with you because I never understood the things you did," I began, deciding to be honest. "I never understood why you smoked that cigarette or why you had to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. But that night... it was like a revelation, Adrian. It solved the endless puzzle that you were to me. And now... that I feel you, I get you. I can't help but show you my compassion."

He was quiet for a long while and we had stopped walking. "It's weird, Sage. You being so nice to me. But... I get it, what you mean. The part about understanding the things I did? I feel like that, too. That night really opened my eyes to who you are as a person." He frowned, and spoke up again, "Not that I didn't know who you are, I did, just - never truly, got to know you, right? I guess nobody ever does truly know someone. Not in this way... Until they've been in each other's heads."

I nodded in agreement. We started to walk again, in silence for a little while, just relishing in each other's presence until Adrian did something strange. And before I could even predict what he was about to do, he grabbed the back of my coat collar and pulled it away from my neck, then dumped a handful of cold snow down my back.

I shrieked. "Hey!" I whirled towards him, shivering and trying to shake the snow out. "What was that for?"

He smiled mischievously, "Elating up the mood. Five more minutes and dramatic Opera music was gonna start blasting out." He chuckled. Ugh. Infuriating jerk. Had I really just been thinking about going easy on him literally a minute ago? Before I knew it, I was scooping up a handful of snow, packing it into a loose ball and tossing it in his face. I was fast, but he was faster, and simply dodged it out of the way. "Oh, come on, Sage. You can do better than that."

"Challenge accepted," I promised, and dove for another handful just as he darted back further amid the deserted streets. He crouched behind a red car and sent a cannonball of snow hurtling towards me. It smacked my shoulder. It was too loose to hurt, but cold enough to leave me groaning and sputtering, right as one more came my way and hit me exactly in the face. _Oh, that's it. It's on now._

"Keep up, Sage!" He called, darting through the alleyways. I laughed, running after him. The air against my face was cold and crisp; and what felt dismal only a little while back now felt inviting and dare I say... fun. Sydney Katherine Sage having a real, live snowball fight. The folks back home probably wouldn't buy it if they saw me do it right in front of their eyes.

We darted between the alleyways, using cars and trashcans for cover as we pelted each other. Mine tended to be nicely packed snowballs that, when they hit, exploded against his coat. His weren't so cohesive, sometimes falling apart before impact. But when they did, they splattered, leaving me coated in fine dust. I couldn't tell if he was deliberately packing them loose to keep me from getting hurt or if he was just horrible at throwing snowballs. He was taunting me from behind another car, spewing empty threats and hilariously lame catch phrases. I realized he was at a disadvantage, he boasted too much; pretentious as he could be.

Huh. Good to know.

I lost track of how long we drew our battle. He was slightly faster than I was the entire time, and his longer legs let him break through the drifts easier than me. He wasn't exactly an athlete though; and I was lighter and could run across the crust fast enough that I didn't step through it. It was almost an even fight, though. He was fast and funny and a surprisingly strong opponent, I was more tactical, using quick time and distance calculations to plot my attacks. And before I knew it, I was laughing at his taunts and breathless from exertion and... having way more fun that I thought I ought to be. Especially under the circumstances.

This was the first time that all this snow had been a good thing, and I was reluctant to stop. My cheeks were flushed and my nose and fingers were numb, when I finally snuck up behind him, pouncing and pushing him down into a drift. He spun as he fell, catching me around the waist and yanking me down with him just as I smushed a handful of snow into his laughing face. We rolled around for a minute, then came to a halt, both of us chuckling and shaking snow out of our eyes.

That's when I realized how we had landed. He was on top of me, straddling my hips, his long jacket half caught beneath me and pinning him there. His hands were fisted and planted in the drift on either side of my head, and his face... his face was only inches away from my own. Snowflakes were caught in his heavy lashes and in his eyebrows. He was still grinning, shaking his head like a dog and showering me with more flakes. The moonlight turned his skin to a strange blue color. His dark hair had specks of crystallized snowflakes caught in them; giving the illusion of sparkles. His jade green eyes swiveled until they met my own. We were both breathing hard and fast. My heart was racing so hard inside my chest, I could have been having a heart attack. His minty breath was warm on my face. And for a minute... I almost forgot about all the complications and troubles we had. For a minute, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to press his lips to mine or just hold him there and stare at him forever. Because he was... well, he looked... beautiful.

Only now he'd sobered and was staring down at me, his expression soft and curious and intense all at once. For too long we just stayed that way, his eyes dark and unreadable as he stared into mine.

_Get up. Wake up. Snap out of this trance. _A logical voice in my head mused. But for a moment, I wasn't sure I knew what that word meant. I knew that my brain was somewhere in there... I just... had to... find it.

His lashes dipped as his gaze fell to my mouth, and I realized that I'd parted my lips slightly and I was breathing funny. The butterflies in my stomach were having a gymnastics contest. Adrian glanced back up at me, through those snow fringed lashes, and there was something in his eyes now that made me nervous and excited... and I couldn't help but shiver, knowing that he was about to kiss me and I should be pushing him off.

I should push him off because I cannot lead him on. But after everything we've been through... Maybe I should've thrown caution to the wind and given this another go. Given us another go. Maybe it wasn't the right time then, but maybe it was now. I knew him now, better than anyone else. His deepest regrets, his darkest fears, the happiest moments in his life. One of them had been the first time that the two of us had kissed. It had been... breath-taking. It had felt like the world had stood still, stopped spinning... simply waiting for the two of us to give it command. He'd smelt so good. His lips had been so soft and dizzying... He kissed like it was the end of the world and he had twenty seconds left to live. It had left me light-headed, almost at bliss. And there was more we could do...

Denial was pointless. I wasn't leading him on, now when I knew in my heart that I loved this guy. More than I had ever loved anything in the world. I was about to lean in closer, jerk myself upright and kiss him till the sun came up, only... I didn't have to.

Suddenly, he was frowning, the weirdest look of concern struck his face. "You're cold," he murmured. "Come on," he rolled off me, pulling his coat out from under me then reaching for my hands to help me stand.

I stood, but I was still a little wobbly. My knees were extremely weak. I was not going to think about how bereft I felt without him on top of me. I would _not.  
_  
And... and if anyone should have broken that... whatever it was, it should have been me. Not him! Me. I groaned, staggering as we traipsed quietly back towards the track that led to Amberwood. "My apartment's closer. You could stay there tonight. I mean... Wouldn't want you to wake up with Hypothermia, would we?" Adrian said.

I was quite sure I was only half-listening. I was still lost in thought, dazed by that drunken need to kiss him, to feel his skin contacting with mine. All those nostalgic feelings were back and they'd brought friends. I felt strangely... humiliated. "God, what was that? It was wrong. Lives are at risk and we're - _fooling _around." Adrian groaned, like he'd seen this coming. "It's called having fun. All we did was add a little levity to our oh-so-serious lives. No harm done, right?" He muttered. I sighed, still trying to shake the feeling that was only getting worse.

I didn't realize that he had led me up to his apartment until we were down his building. "What is this?" I asked. He rolled his eyes, "My apartment."

"Yes. I know that. Why?"

"Because, like I said earlier, I think it's closer so its better for your health. You are literally looking sickly, Sage. I'll make you a cup of nice hot chocolate and you can even take the bed." That did sound nice, I had to admit. But that was taking a big step, wasn't it? Adrian Ivashkov and beds were _always_ a risky combination. For better or for worse, my fatigue got the better of me and I surrendered.

As he opened the door to his apartment, the smell of perfume and more clove mints wafted through. It smelt sweet and intoxicating at the same time. Just like him. "You should go get freshened up, I'll fix the heaters and make you something hot."

I didn't even protest. "Can it be coffee?"

He grinned, "Why, of course."

In a tired, drone-like manner, I made my way to the bathroom. I was surprised when even his bathroom smelt good. It even looked organized, which came as slight of a shock considering Adrian wasn't exactly the most spick and span. I stared at myself in the mirror. Droplets of slowly melting ice crystals hung in my hair, they looked unkept and frizzy; sticking about everywhere. The clothes under my layers of winter wear were ruffled and wrinkly. So I stepped out and asked him if I could take a quick shower.

It was strange. Taking a shower in Adrian's bathroom.

The water was extremely hot, and it scorched my skin a little bit, but I didn't mind - it felt good and soothing. My body ached from all the running around all day, and my eyes felt heavy. I stepped out of the bathroom in a towel, almost having a panic attack when I realized I didn't have anything to wear. Adrian, however, the master of chivalry that he was, had left me a comfy looking long blue shirt to put on. I slipped it on, it fell just a little above my knees, I was slightly insecure about being half-naked around him, but I was too worn out to protest or complain.

When I was out, Adrian walked over to me and handed me a steaming cup of coffee. I smiled at him genuinely, telling him that I was grateful as I chugged it down. The hot liquid felt nourishing to my stomach and pacifying against my throat.

I curled up on the couch and we sat there for a while. He sat on the couch opposite to mine until I finally broke the silence. "You look almost as tired as I am. You should go get cleaned up." I suggested, he shook his head no. "I can do that once you're asleep."

I stared out the window for a while, the heater had been turned up so I didn't feel cold, but I could tell the weather outside had been picking up the pace since we had left. "Adrian..." I started, about two minutes later. He looked up, his eyes curious. "Yeah?" his voice was soft.

"That spell... It was frustrating and scary but I feel like it brought us even closer together. Like, maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Maybe it means something..." my voice trailed off. I bit the side of my cheek so hard at my anxiousness that I was surprised I didn't draw blood.

"Maybe." He responded.

He bit his lip. "And maybe not. I... was talking to Jailbait earlier, you know. And she was so full of this hope that I would succeed and make the stars align for us all or something. And... It got me thinking." I nodded, listening carefully. "I can't do it. I... I don't think I have it in me, Sydney. I'm slipping... the spirit, it's getting harder to deal with everyday. I mean, it's like everyday I'm being drawn a little closer towards my ultimate descent into darkness. And I... I just don't want to leave a trail of causalities that go down with me. I don't think I can handle it - people having faith in me." His voice cracked, and I could tell that he was earnest.

"_I_ have faith in you," I pointed out instantly. "There's nothing wrong with that. And you've come this far, Adrian. You can't... You don't just give up. Not now." I urged.

He shook his head, unconvinced. "Maybe this was what Rose was talking about. I'm no Dimitri Belikov. I haven't saved the world a countless times. I'm not a Russian warlord. I'm not the hero in the red cape who saves the day. And I can't..." His voice trailed off again, his jaw clenched and he bawled his fists. My heart felt like it was going to explode. I stared at him, incredulous for the first few moments. I was sick of it. His self-loathing and his modestness. If only he could understand... I didn't want Dimitri. I didn't want anyone that wasn't him.

"How can you even say that?" My voice came out high-pitched. "You got a one way ticket into my head, Adrian! Didn't you see the way I felt about you? The way I saw you? Why can't you see it? The beauty in you, how special you really are. Why do you have to keep doing this to yourself?" I was practically pleading him to stop. His eyes grew wide, but he managed to mask the rest of his alarm. "Yes, and after my journey to the center of Sydney, that was when I realized that you were the one person that saw it. The good in me. You are the one person, Sage - who refuses to give up on me. Even my father basically announced that I was a useless piece of shit but then you came along and I just... I don't think I deserve it. You. Everything that is you."

"Why?" Now my voice was cracking.

"I don't know - because you are... smart, brilliant and an amazing person. Strong enough to hold the weight of the world on your shoulders, even when you're crumbling inside. And you're just so pure and good, it lights you up from the inside till you almost glow so bright it burns."

The butterflies were now in their somersaulting phase. I was pretty sure it would go on forever. I wanted to cry again. These past few days, I'd relived everything that we had been through before I'd selfishly taken off for Mexico. The ups and downs, the happiness and the tears. All of it. And Adrian's words... they made me feel like I was going to burst into a big bubble of emotions. My life had been fairly uneventful until he had come around and turned it all on its head. I thought that _he_ was the one that burned bright.

"I don't know, Sage. Sometimes when I talk to you... I got to see everything during my dream trip, and it was incredible. I had to bite my tongue every so often to keep from speaking, to keep from telling you how amazing you were when you were trying to protect your sister. Putting your own life on hold to let her live hers in harmony."

I shivered, goosebumps were practically all over my body now. And they weren't because of the cold. "Dream walking was strange, wasn't it?" I mumbled, because what could I respond to words like that? Nothing would ever measure up. There were tears already beginning to prick at my eyelids. I had to squeeze my eyes shut repeatedly to keep them from spilling.

He laughed at that. "I didn't get the walking tour. Next time, I'll tell Rose my dream guide that I'd rather have that than Wonka's Great Glass Elevator."

I grinned, staring back down at my feet. "We should give it a try, Adrian. I want to be with you. And I... I know it's not going to be a cake walk, but we've survived all kinds of insane things right. What's another to add to the list?"

I was aware of what I was doing. But for once, I didn't care. I had never not cared.

I couldn't let it pass me by. I couldn't let him pass me by. I wanted to feel the pleasure of his skin against mine once more, I wanted to have all those late-night conversations we spent snapping and bantering and reciting poems to each other. Even the both of us planning strategies with Mrs. T. I wanted it all, and I wanted it all with him.

"I.. I know," he looked a bit floored. "God, you have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that, Sage."

I smiled at him. "You must promise me something, Adrian. You have to work on yourself. But you won't give up. All this self-doubt and self-loathing has to go away." He looked conflicted.

"Listen to me," I said, "You are the sort of person that I can count on having by my side, through thick and thin. To watch my back. The sort that I can just... be myself with, not having to hide any part of me. Not even the bits that make me self-conscious."

Adrian smiled back, "That's a relief. Because I don't want just Sydney Sage, you know. I'm a greedy bastard. I want the whole package, faults and all."

xxxxx

I wasn't sure for how long we sat there then, just talking away until we were so extremely tired that we were falling asleep. Somehow, we had made it back to his bedroom and I'd tucked myself into bed. "The blanket should be comfy enough. Holler if you need anything. Don't let the bed bugs bite." He was about to turn on his heel to leave, but I stopped him.

"Adrian," my voice was hoarse. He turned around. "Yeah?" I sighed, biting my lip before letting the words out. "Will you..." my voice trailed off. He blinked.

"Can you just... hold me?"

He tried to conceal his astonishment, but didn't look like he was complaining. "Sure." He replied as he made his way towards the bed. He walked towards me so gingerly, as if he were approaching an alligator. I thought he noticed me staring at him quizzically, because he rectified that almost immediately. He took off his jacket and left it to rest on the table opposite to the bed. It was comfortable and spacious, so I shifted in a little for him to be able to squeeze in. He rested his head on the pillow next to mine. With a sigh, I snuggled closer. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tucked me up against his chest. We were laying down now. He was solid and fit around me just as nicely as I remembered. He smelt like leather, expensive perfume and snow and alcohol. It was a strangely comforting scent. Drowsy, I settled in, wrapping an arm around him. Beneath my arm his stomach was flat and ridged with muscles, under his cotton t-shirt. Under my ear, I could feel his heart beating inside his chest, and it was... loud and pounding.

"Your heart's beating really fast." I whispered softly.

I think he was aware of that. I felt him chuckle, it rumbled inside his chest. "Sorry." I smiled against him and was awake for a few more minutes, simply content next to him. Momentarily, all my worries had dissapeared and I could pretend just for one night that we led a normal life. I wanted to stay like this forever. Freeze this moment in time like they did in movies. That would be nice. I could be in his arms forever.

I felt him drift off to sleep before me, both his breathing and his heart rate steadying down. His lips rested atop my head. I felt like I was in heaven. Like I was safe.

One night.

One night to pretend that we weren't Sydney Sage the human witch and Adrian Ivashkov the Moroi spirit user trying to operate under society's constraints.

We were just two regular people in love. Two broken things. And didn't broken things belong with other broken things?

Just...

For one night.


	11. Promises

**A/N: And here it is. As promised, an early update! *confetti falls from the sky* Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I will continue to update more frequently however this story is still incomplete and I have 2 more major projects that I am currently working on which means I might not be finishing this story any time soon. I do promise to finish it, but the updates might slow down again after a while.**

**But for now... Enjoy. Thank you to all who reviewed. Please keep reviewing! It truly makes my day and it may even motivate me to write faster ;).  
**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven : **Adrian

_Let me in the wall,  
You've built around,  
We can light a match,  
And burn it down_

_Let me hold your hand,_  
_And dance 'round and 'round the flames,_  
_In front of us,_

_dust to dust._

* * *

It was the best night of my life.

All I did was hold her; watch her sleep, wrap her in my embrace and... it was the best night of my life; which was saying something since I'd had some pretty sweet ones. As long as I had waited for the moment where Sydney would allow me back into her arms; I knew that she was still too raw and vulnerable at the moment. And I had no intention of taking advantage of that fact. It didn't matter how amazing her body felt cuddled up against mine. I had a handle on my urges; even when it came to Sydney; who tested my restraint like no other girl had ever come close to doing.

We didn't talk, but it was comfortable; blissful silence. She was out like a light five minutes later. I laid there for hours watching Sydney sleep. I'd never had the opportunity to simply admire her before, not in this way. I took in the way her silky blonde hair fanned out across my chest, small wisps getting caught between her lips as she breathed in and out. I stared at her slightly parted lips- lush and full, just made to be kissed. Plump and inviting. Her demure little nose would wriggle every once in awhile, like she had to sneeze in her sleep. I even found myself captivated by the simple rise and fall of her chest, placing a hand over her heart just once, to feel it thumping lightly. Her heart beat sixty-one times a minute and she breathed fourteen times in a minute. Only, every three minutes her breathing would stutter slightly and for that minute she'd breathe twelve instead.

I wasn't able to sleep that night, not even in the perfectly silent room with Sydney laying right next to me. There were too many swirling thoughts in my head ready to distract me. When I finally did manage to get Sydney out of my head; I was beginning to worry again. About Ivy and the voices in my head. About everything.

My eyes fell back to Sydney a million times, and every single time I looked at her all peaceful and angelic in her sleep; a pang erupted inside my chest. _I won't let anything happen to her._ That was a vow that I would make to myself. I wasn't Dimitri Belikov, it was true. I wasn't Batman and I wasn't exactly the poster child for the world's most atheletic and tough; but I had my own strengths. I'd die before I let that frigid bitch lay a hand on my Sage. She had gone through enough torture and agony to last a dozen lifetimes, and she didn't deserve more. Even if I had to use up all the spirit I had remaining inside of me, even if it drove me insane - I'd do it. To keep her safe, healthy and alive. I'd do it.

I knew I wasn't much, but I was Adrian Ivashkov. I practically invented obstinacy. So... It couldn't be too bad, could it? Only I could still hear her sometimes, that eerie voice in my head. That cold, pompous laughter. Like she was enjoying playing with us. Like we were her puppets or something. I had this horrible feeling that we were right where Ivy wanted us to be; and that she was always one step ahead. If she got what she wanted and managed to suck in every Moroi power... she'd be unstoppable. All hell would break loose. World war three; the apoloclypse, you name it.

It wasn't going to happen. I didn't know how I would stop her; not yet. But I'd figure out a way, and when I did, I'd rush into battle guns blazing if I had to... Once I pushed the dismal thoughts away, I finally managed to catch some sleep.

xxxxx

She wasn't next to me.

I woke up with a start; noticing that Sydney had already slipped out of bed and I was sprawled out across it all on my own. I sat up, looking around and rubbing my eyes. I sighed in relief as I watched her walk in; smiling down at me with a steaming cup of something in her hand. She handed it to me, "I think you forget," I muttered, "Coffee is _your _thing."

She grinned, "It's hot chocolate, with marshmallows. But if you don't want it..." she shrugged, she was about to take the cup back from me but I laughed and grabbed her waist with my free hand, pulling her into me. She chuckled, "Did you take a look outside?" I nodded no. "Why?" She shrugged, "They're predicting a snow storm. Everyone's been advised to stay in their homes but it's just so beautiful outside that I forget sometimes... that you know, we're in the middle of a great tradegy and that all of this snow is caused by some psychotic witch." I took a long, soothing sip of the hot cocoa and stumbled out of bed. She was right.

The view outside was kinda spectacular. The tree tops, the hoods of the cars, even the rooftops and the mountains far beyond were all covered in a heavy mass of snow. It was still snowing, the snowflakes looked beautful; forming the illusion of fine powder dwindling across the barren land. Sunlight gleamed off the thinner sheets of ice; making them shine like diamonds. The beauty however; lasted only until you tried to open the window. A wisp of bone-chilling, biting air swept in and I had to rush to close it back down. I rubbed my shivering hands together. "Yep. There's definitely a storm coming."

She sighed, "They predict the storm will roll in very soon. In about two hours." I frowned. "I think it's better if we stay at home till it clears out." It' was Sydney's turn to frown. "What if it never does? It's supernatural in origin, it could literally go on forever. It's not something we can just wait out and there's so much to do and figure out. Maybe we should ask Mrs. T, she'll know what to do." I nod, for her sake. "Maybe you're right." Only I knew she wasn't, for once. Even Jackie wasn't going to be able to save the day this time. Sydney bit her lip. "You don't think so." I shook my head no. "It's another excuse to spend some more quality time with you. I'm not really one to complain."

She laughed. "I'm flattered, but that's exactly why I think it would be wiser to consult Mrs. T first and see what she has to say about our freak storm." Sydney was nothing if not persistent so I shrugged and nodded. "Go ahead. Call on the big guns."

xxxxx

"So that was a bust." Sydney declared, walking out of her bedroom, now changed into jeans and a light blue cotton shirt. "The phone lines are all dead. I guess you got your wish after all." I turned around and flashed her a smirk, "You sound dissapointed. Is cabin fever with me really all that bad?" She smiled again, her eyes gleaming with something like amusement. "It's not bad at all, actually. I'm simply worried about everyone; everything. What if Jill isn't safe? How would we know? And if you noticed, I don't think Mrs. T has been up for the role of Commanding General these past few days. She looks so worn out."

I wasn't surprised. It was one of the things that had first attracted me to Sydney, how she always put others livelihoods and concerns before her own. Sure, it was part of her job, but she wasn't exactly competing for Alchemist of the year anymore. I had to do my best to assure her, I slid off the bed and pulled her into a tight yet brief hug. "Jailbait's quite the champ, more than we give her credit for actually - I think she can hold her own. Plus, she's got Eddie, Angeline and Neil to look after her. I'm sure Mrs. T is doing everything she can to contact us. You, on the other hand, need to relax just for a bit."

"If I start relaxing now the world will probably burst into flame and I wouldn't even notice."

I arched an eyebrow and she bit her lip, she seemed like she wanted to add something to that, but closed her mouth and let it go instead. "Don't worry," I muttered cheekily, "I can handle a little heat."

Sydney sighed, walking back towards the window before staring out of it again, "I hate feeling so helpless; stuck in this stupid apartment." She mumbled under her breath, I wasn't even sure she was talking to me, but I'd heard her loud and clear. I had to admire her flair, she was finally getting a break from all that was wicked and insane and she didn't even want it. I gazed at her from across the room where I was now leaning against the plush couch. Her golden strands of hair looked seraphic in the soft sunlight, her head was tilted at a certain angle that told me that she was in the middle of some power thinking. She was biting her plump lower lip, her eyes swivelled around - calculating and musing. It was immensely attractive. Maybe I was exaggerating, but sometimes I felt like she was the masterpiece of the universe. Untouchable. Gorgeous. Regal. The kind of girl people read books about, the kind of person they wrote movies about; whose possessions they stored in museums for decades to come. She was so smart; brilliant. Strong enough to hold the weight of the world on her shoulders, even when she was crumbling inside. And she is so damn good, it lights her up from the inside till she's almost glowing so bright it burns.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" I asked. She twirled around, "I think spirit's symptoms are taking effect faster than you thought." I waved away her remark; "I'm not insane. Not yet, anyway. You said you didn't like being crammed in here, we could go out for a little while. There's... there's this art gallery about a block away from here, I'd been wanting to take you there, but I never got the chance." She thought about this before vigorously shaking her head no. "We can't. Everything is closed." I chuckled, "I know." Her eyes widened. "No!" She flailed her arms up in the air, "No way. No. Absolutely..._ No_. I am not breaking into an art gallery!" I strode over to her, "Only a month ago you were running away with a group of Alchemist rebels, how's this worse than that?" I pointed out. I smiled at her reaction; it looked like I'd struck a chord. "That..." she stammered, "That was totally different!" I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on. We've got around two hours before the storm kicks in. We might as well make the most of it. I promise you, we won't get caught." I assured. "We could use that time to go find Mrs. T instead!" I sighed, "Mrs. T lives twenty-five minutes away at the least, this place is closer to home. It's safer. Do you want to get stranded in the middle of a snow storm?" I assumed she didn't think of a creative retort for that one. She stomped her foot in dismay.

"Fine!"

xxxxx

"I can't believe we're doing this." Sydney whined in outrage as we stepped out of my yellow mustang and trudged through the ankle deep snow to make it to the back door of _Archie's _Gallery. "You're crazy," she went on. "_I'm_ crazy!"

It had been going on for the entire one minute drive here. "Shh!" I put a finger over my lip as I lead her towards the back door. There was a small lock on it, which was rusted and probably very old. As expected, the lock was easy to bust open. Sydney gawked at me but kept quiet. Covertly, we stepped into the gallery and she shut the door softly behind us. It wasn't too big, just a long narrow lobby filled with a ton of gorgeous artwork. Thankfully, security wasn't a problem - nobody had bothered to show up for work, not in this bone chilling cold. Plus, it was a rather dank, unfamous little gallery that required less security. There were very few people who even knew it existed, so it was safe to say we weren't going to bump into a cat burglar. Sydney looked adorable all bundled up in layers and layers of winterwear. Her nose was red and so were her cheeks, she was shaking off some of the snow and rubbing her gloved hands together. "How do I let myself get dragged into these things?" She muttered to me, although she sounding like she was questioning herself.

I rested a finger to my lip again, then smiled. "It's because you can't resist me. Don't worry, I have that effect on people." She rolled her eyes, huffing at me and following me down the lobby. "Not to judge your taste or anything, but what is so special about this place anyway? Why did you want to bring me here?" She asked. I thought about this. "They've got a precious collection, I'll show you." Gently, I took her hand and led her through. She didn't protest.

"What do you think?" I gestured her over to the painting that I was standing in front of. She tilted her head a bit to the side as she stared at it. "I can't quite tell if it's a landscape or something abstract. It looks like it might have started out as a painting of the horizon but everything is so fuzzy and wavy... I can't really tell what it's supposed to be." I smiled. "Nothing at all, huh?" She frowned. "I think... it's nice?"

"Sydney Sage is at a loss for words. We must have stepped into the Twilight zone." Sydney grinned. "Now _that_, is the effect you have on me." I wasn't sure if she was flirting; I never really could tell with Sydney, still, I felt a warmth spread inside me at that. I just chuckled, shaking my head lightly. "Come on, what do you really think?"

Sydney looked again, biting her lower lip in thought. "It's... confusing."

I stepped closer to her as we both stared at the picture. "His bold strokes and attention to detail are downright sublime. What looks like random patterns are nothing less than the work of pure genius."

I kept staring at the picture, it was breathtaking. This is why I loved _Archie'_s so much, whoever owned the place had a great eye for art. I could feel Sydney's eyes staring me down, a look of fascination combined with amusement was fixed on her face. I turned my own face to her. "You really need to check it out from the other side of the room."

Sydney actually looked interested in what I was trying to get her to see as she followed me and turned back to look at the piece of art from across the room. I watched her eyes light up, "You're a whiz with math and science. This is my forte." The artist of the painting had blended in a ton of colours together, only someone who was very ingrossed in his work would be able to catch his dextirity. I felt like the artist may have made it like that on purpose. "There's something ethereal; heavenly about it," she started, her amber eyes still fixed on the painting. "And I guess it does have a certain..." she trailed off.

"It's mesmerizing." I said, still watching her gaze at it.

With a smile on her face, she turned to face me again. "You're really passionate about this stuff. It's something I've always admired about you." I returned her smile, leading her to the next painting. "Why did you just start painting? If this was always something you were so perfervid about; then why didn't you ever do it before you came to Palm Springs?"

"I tried to, but I guess it just took me a little nudge to get into it all again. Palm Springs has been pretty good for me, eh?" I mumbled.

I couldn't explain to her that it was because when I was growing up, ever the great Nathan Ivashkov had always vied my artistic abilities as a weakness - just another thing to throw in my face. 'Real men work hard to earn themselves reputable positions. Real men don't play with paints.' I could tell her that, it wasn't like I wanted to hide anything from Sydney of all people, I just didn't feel like talking about it.

"What do you think of this one?" I paused in front of another painting, this one was a depiction of a naked couple embracing, drawn from the torso up.

Again, she bit her lower lip as she studied it. "It's very intimate. I feel like I'm intruding on something."

"That's the point." I whispered, leaning in closer to Sydney. For what felt like the gazillionth time that day, I fought the overwhelming urge to crush my lips to hers. I moved so close to her that I was betting she could feel my breath ghosting over her neck. I felt her body tense, and she sucked in a breath. There were a dozen layers of clothes between the two of us - I was thankful for that, because if it hadn't been for them, I probably would have pushed her up against the wall and kissed her right here and now. The combination of her being so close and the sensual painting we were standing in front of was more than I could handle. Sydney coughed a little, stepping away from me and the painting.

"What about this one?" She asked, darting over to another painting.

I stared at the painting she was talking about. The artist was lauded as being the next Picasso or Dali, but I personally didn't love his work. I looked at the abstract painting and felt nothing. Turning my head to the side, I watched Sydney who appeared to be hypnotized by it. "I don't know. What do you think?" I spoke softly, trying not to break her concentration.

There was no pause this time before Sydney spoke. "I think it's amazing. It's lonely but hopeful. It looks like the handiwork of someone who was desperate and... sad, the deep, stark colours... I feel like they're calling out to me. I can't really explain. I don't exactly have your way with words when it comes to describing art."

Before I could respond, we heard something. A strange, knocking sound. Sydney gasped. "What was that?" her tone was low. I took a protective step towards her, "I've got no clue. Stay back." I whispered. We heard it again. Footsteps. They were loud and seemed to reverberate throughout the narrow corridor. I twisted my mouth in a lour. What the hell was that? The noises were back, except this time, it sounded kind of like a throaty growl. Like a lion about to pounce on its prey. Whoever our surprise guest was, I could bet on my life he wasn't here in peace.

"I'm not hearing things, am I? You hear that too?" I asked about the growling.

"Definitely hear it." Sydney's voice was frantic. My heart began to pound rapidly inside my chest as the sound got louder and the footsteps got closer. "Adrian..." I turned to look at her, in the dim light that shone on her face from the evening glow outside, she looked ghastly pale. "Listen..." she whispered.

"We've heard this before."

And then... everything happened all at once.

I recognized the sound, the strigoi jumped out at us - prowling and laughing fanatically, it was a female; she had probably been in her early twenties when she was turned. She had all the standard features that every strigoi ever possessed. From the red rimmed eyes, to the pale, sullen skin, to the lifeless yet fierce voice. Her human features were clouded, she had light blonde hair and sported casual jeans. I couldn't tell whether she was newly changed or years old since strigoi didn't age. Sydney shrieked. On instant, I grabbed her by one arm and yanked her around behind me in a protective tug as the strigoi charged at us.

I thought I'd met enough strigoi to last a lifetime. Ten lifetimes.

I guess I was wrong.

I dodged her, flailing my arms around and running awry to keep her attention solely on me. I wasn't exactly Jackie Chan, but I could buy us some time. Sydney looked absolutely terrified; I didn't blame her, I almost felt the same way. It wasn't exactly news that we had had a ton of bad experiences with Strigoi, I wasn't sure either of us wanted to add more crazy ventures to that ever expanding list. I dodged two blows, at least I was fast. That was something.

Unfortunately, the strigoi was faster. She was stronger and more energetic. And somehow, every human turned strigoi seemed to magically possess some wicked combat skills. This strigoi must be pretty confident, because she was toting no weapons. She managed to land a punch in my gut. For a moment, there was nothing but surging, blinding pain.

And then... I recovered. I fought back, I even managed to bruise her jaw. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to keep this up for long. I stole a glance at Sydney from the corner of my eye; she'd already gotten over the fear that had gripped her and was chanting an incantation. Magic. That was always welcome. Maybe she'd produce one of those badass fireballs and save me from an embarrassing death.

She met my eyes, they were practically pleading. I got the message wide and clear: _Just a little more time. _The strigoi grabbed me by the ankle and twisted it, I groaned in agony, the strigoi laughed - and in that one second of hesitance, I managed to headbutt her with all the strength I could conjure.

It hurt like a bitch.

We both doubled back in pain. Gasping and groaning, I fell to the ground and rolled around clutching my throbbing head; I felt like someone was trying to bust my head open with a railroad spike. Hot, prickly tears began to irritate my eyes due to all the shooting pain. I stumbled onto my feet despite this, because Sydney needed my help. Only...

She didn't.

She had succeeded with a spell. And what a spell it was. I gawked in awe, and momentarily, the stinging ache seemed to abate as I focused on her. Her eyes were wild with something vehement; her face that had looked so pale now seemed to only radiate, she looked smoldering. Like she was on fire. For a short instance, she looked vicious, a force of nature not to be reckoned with.

Powerful.

She snapped her fingers and the strigoi crumbled to her knees, clutching her forehead and writhing in pain. She lifted her arms up and the strigoi screamed. And then it was over. Sydney crumbled to a heap on the floor, barely managing to whisper, "Hoist her up!" I wanted to run to Sydney's aid, I wanted to make sure she was okay because she looked terrible again. Sweat beaded her forehead, she looked feeble and jaded. Still, I did as I was told.

I moved as quick as my swollen limbs could take me. I hauled the now unconscious strigoi up and loaded her onto a chair that was nearby. Sydney managed to stand up again, she leaned onto the wall and muttered a simple word that I couldn't quite catch. "She won't be able to move off that chair, it should hold her for at least... fifteen minutes." She explained breathlessly. "What kind of spell was this? I don't remember Mrs. T teaching you this stuff."

Sydney nodded. "That's because she didn't."

She brushed the dust off her pants and stumbled towards where I stood, right in front of the now limp female strigoi. "We should finish her off," I muttered indignantly, "No," her voice was calm even though I could tell that she was anything but calm right now. "Not yet. Palm Springs is sparse on the strigoi front; and even if it wasn't - no creature in their right mind would randomly go hunting in this weather. They would most likely migrate elsewhere. I didn't mention it, but I had this feeling that we were being followed the entire drive here, and I was right. This strigoi was after us for a reason." I suddenly caught up to her, and I didn't like where she was headed.

"You want to question her," I gauged. "See who she's working for."

Sydney nodded. I sighed, "I don't know if we should risk it. She almost beat me to a bloody death, Sage. If your spell... if it backfires or something-" she cut me off almost instantly. "It won't. It's fullproof. Trust me on that." I wanted to ask her about the spell, but I figured she would tell me if she wanted to. Right now, we had bigger issues at hand. Strigoi sized issues.

"So what should we do? Wait for her to wake up?" I questioned, I stood as close to the vampire as I dared and bent down to examine her face. Her neck hung back on the chair at a grotesque angle. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought she was dead. Sydney was still leaning on the wall so that it would support her body weight. Something inside my chest twisted. "Give it a minute." Her voice was soft, but it was due to all the energy that she had drained. Thin, dark blood began to trickle out from her left nostril. "Sage," my voice was neutral. I tapped my own nose. She gasped as her finger made contact with the blood. "It'll go away. Don't worry..."

I wasn't sure which one of us she was reassuring.

I turned back around, I was tired of waiting about for some disgusting creature of the night to meet and greet us. So I did the first thing that came to my mind. I slapped her.

I was more of a love and peace guy myself; but this was testing my boundaries. Either the new Olympic sport of the Gods was to push Adrian around; or I was just losing it. Both probabilities seemed likely.

Miraculously, it worked. The strigoi's eyes opened, she groaned against what seemed to be invisible ropes that didn't let her move. When she was done fighting against whatever was restraining her, she finally gave up and looked up at us. I was a little proud to admit that her jaw was bleeding from where I'd punched her. I was a little less proud that my own knuckles had also received full brunt of that.

Sydney walked over to the strigoi and crossed her arms over her chest. Even though I knew that she was probably dead tired and in pain; to an unsuspecting observer, she would look confident and determined. I would have smiled at that, if only I didn't have this strange sense of dread creeping up my spine. This was definitely a far cry from the old Sydney that I knew. Somehow, I thought that she was better for it. This new Sydney was brave, talented, relentless. It made me want her more than ever.

"There's no point struggling, you aren't escaping. So please do enlighten us. Who do you work for and why were you after us?"

The strigoi scowled and then burst into cackling laughter. "I'm not the enemy." She blabbed between hissing fits. "You can kill me right now, it won't change fate. She's coming. She's going to lead us into a new world. She will swallow the human race, bring shadows and darkness upon the universe. And she will prevail."

Her words set me on an end. Not to mention the look on the strigoi's face was almost hysterical, she was smiling up at the ceiling like it might as well be her salvation. The hairs on the back of my arms stood up, but I didn't let it show. Sydney's face was as stoic as it could be. "What did '_she_' hire you for, exactly? Dramatics?" I asked. The blonde strigoi cackled again. "She wanted to give you one last chance."

It was pretty obvious who the 'she' here was. Ivy.

"Give us a last chance to... what? Die?" Sydney asked. Ironically, the strigoi nodded. "It was our queen bestowing mercy upon you. If you had died at my hands, you would have been better off. Now you will see your world crumble into nothingness. You will see your loved ones burn. You are headed for a dark future." I laughed, but it was stale. "How very gracious of her." Sydney looked like she had been slapped in the face.

"What exactly is her mighty plan, then?" Sydney asked. The Strigoi grinned, her teeth were pointed and sharp; like one of a shark's. "That is a surprise." I frowned. "Enough of the cryptic bullshit. Tell us more about her or you die." We were going to kill her either way, but maybe the threat would work. Only it didn't.

"You will have to kill me before I reveal anything of importance!" I groaned, anger seeping through me. This was getting pointless. I rummaged through my mind for ways to kill a Strigoi, and then I remembered that there were only three ways. Decapitation, setting them ablaze and a silver stake through the heart. However... they burnt in sunlight. I presumed the Strigoi managed to follow us by keeping to the shadows and sneaking around the underground sewer system that connected most of this side of the city. It wasn't exactly sunny outside, but I was hoping there was enough light out there to kill a strigoi.

"She won't talk." I told Sydney, "You know what we have to do."

The Strigoi roared pompously. Sydney had a haunted; almost hopeless expression on her face. I grabbed her shoulders, "Hey, hey. It's gonna be okay." She didn't move or utter a word. "You will part ways. Our queen... she needs spirit for the final move. Tons of it. I was doing you a favour by killing you, he will see so much worse than death in the days to come. Spirit has corrupted his mind, it's corroding it. Too much for a human brain to successfully thrive on. He will blow up, and he will take you down with him, eventually."

"Shut up!" I screamed, before turning to Sydney and blocking her view of the Strigoi.

"Don't listen to her. Sydney, look at me. Just focus on the sound of my voice. Okay?" She simply nodded, but it was a weak; robotic nod. Like she wasn't really hearing the words that were coming out of my mouth. Only sounds.

"Sydney!" I cried out. "The boy is dying." The Strigoi cooed before she began to whistle a tune. I recognized the tune almost instantly, it was a song by Copeland called "You are my sunshine". A very famous tune, too. I was proved right when the Strigoi began to murmur the last line from the song. "Please don't take my sunshine away." she kept repeating the tune and the lyrics, a unhinged lump began to form in my throat. Her voice was certifiably slow and deranged at the same time.

Suddenly, the Strigoi stood up on her own - despite the spell that Sydney had put on her, and instead of attacking us, she walked right out the door that led outside and then there was a scream. I cringed and Sydney fell to her knees at the same time.

That Strigoi had just walked out to her own death. I crouched down to Sydney's level and simply held her for a few minutes, aware that she was traumatized. Two minutes later, she lifted her head up to look at me, her eyes were bleak.

"I should go get the body out of the way."

xxxxx

The pacifying warmth of the fireplace wasn't enough to chase her demons away.

She was resting on my couch, Mrs. T had created a fireplace for my apartment when the temperatures had dropped beyond measure with the help of some spell and tonight, we were thankful for that. Sydney looked distraught; too caught up in her own mind to look up at the world around her. She was physically present here with me, but I could tell that mentally... she was somewhere else. Some place dark, by the haunted look on her face.

Something about that last encounter of ours with that female strigoi had struck a chord with her. I felt so helpless because for once... I wasn't sure of what it was. After we had cleared up the body of the now dead vamp, her delivery had been robotic at best. She barely spoke two words on the drive back home in the storming weather. I helped her take off her coats and winter wear, after which she settled onto my couch and I made her a cup of hot coffee; returning the favor for this morning's hot chocolate.

I stood up, dusted my jeans and fetched her a soft blanket, which I lay upon her while she stared up at the ceiling; her eyes dazed. I didn't want to upset her further, so I didn't utter a single word. She would talk when she was ready. And if I was being honest, I didn't blame her. The creep level had skyrocketed. That vampire said some pretty spooky things, I kept telling myself that the strigoi was lying; but she'd just walked off into her own death. What reason could she possibly have to lie? For some reason, I kept feeling like her dismal mood was my fault. I had decided to go to that stupid gallery on a spur of the moment whim; I was the one who led that strigoi right to us. I didn't even realize that something had been following us! I took the risk of stalking off into the stormy, snowy weather at a time like this instead of protecting her like... I bet that Dimitri Belikov would know just the right thing to say or to do, if he was in my shoes. Hell, he'd just flash some of his muscle and Sydney would be swooning.

I wasn't like that.

I sighed, the silence starting to deafen me.

"Sydney, I'm sorry. The gallery idea was stupid. I should have known better." For half a minute, she didn't speak, then she tilted her head towards me so that she could make eye-contact. "It wasn't your fault. The strigoi would have caught up to us either way, I'm quite positive." Maybe she was right. I still didn't feel any less guilty. After another quiet moment, she finally spoke again.

"I'm the one who should be sorry - for the silent treatment, I mean." Her voice was soft, I nodded. "I would ask what's wrong but I'm guessing that would just be stupid, considering..." I trailed off. To my surprise, she shot off the couch and took a seat next to me, in front of the fire. "I was just thinking... I don't know. Is it weird that I feel bad? For that strigoi girl. I mean... we didn't even know her name." I frowned, staring at the crimson flames burning in front of us. "Does it matter? Evil, dead thing - remember? She isn't the same person that she once was, Sage. That person is gone." Sydney bit her lip. "The only thing that seperates a zombie from a strigoi is that strigoi have better skin and they don't eat brains." I continued.

"You're right. It's just... such devotion. She has to feel _something_, right? If she's willing to sacrifice herself for her cause... Sometimes, I feel like the bad guys are the ones who always win in the end because they're so dedicated to what they believe in. If only we were the same then maybe... maybe our world would be a better place."

I couldn't help but tilt my head to look at her entire face. It glowed with so much curiosity and amazement, sometimes - I was in awe of her. Of everything that she was. Everything that she could be. I smirked at her,

"Only Sydney Katherine Sage could ever have sympathy for the Devil."

"I'm serious," she coaxed. "It's part of the alchemists' job to clean up the messes that your race leave on the world. Seeing all those dead bodies though, it twists me up inside. I pretend like I'm hard as stone, I don't let it affect me, and usually it works... I know that they are evil creatures but death is not a pleasant thing. Not for anyone. It shouldn't be taken lightly." I smiled at her, she looked so feverent and impassioned. Her amber eyes gleamed with so many ideas; so much insight.

"That's true. It sucks but it's also a part of life. Death comes for us all, you can't escape it. That relentless bitch." I mumbled. Sydney chuckled softly and then she was quiet again.

"She said that you were dying..." Sydney's voice was so thick with emotion I had to keep my chest from swelling up. I gulped. "She was just saying that to mess with our heads." Sydney nodded, "But what if it's true? I... can't lose you, Adrian. I won't."

I turned around so that I was now facing her. I placed my hands on top of hers, warmth spread through the skin in between my fingers. "That's right. You won't lose me, Sage. I'm not gonna let some crazy she devil seal our fate. Do you hear me?" She looked up into my eyes, and I saw hope in them. "Promise me," her voice was so low I was surprised I could hear her at all. "Promise me that you'll stay."

"I promise." My answer was immediate.

"I believe you." she whispered.

We sat there for a bit, silent. There wasn't much sound except for the cackling of the fire. I tossed some more wood on it, and we watched the flames grow. Outside the wind was still howling, and the windows were whited out with flakes. Looked like we were stuck with each other for one more night.

Not that I minded.

I thought about the way Sydney looked today when she was fending off the strigoi. I thought about her smile, her eyes, her fire. I wasn't going to go back from this; only forward from here on out. We would tackle whatever was coming. Together. I didn't care if Sydney didn't want me, I wanted her and whether she liked it or not, I would always be there. Watching her back, keeping her from crumbling, lending her my strength. Always. It was a promise I was making, to myself. One that I was positive I would keep. No matter what came our way.

"Adrian?" Sydney suddenly mumbled. "Yeah?" I strained my neck to meet her eyes. "I never truly apologized, not like I should have. You didn't deserve what I did to you, the way I acted before I left with Marcus and his Merry Men. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was wrong. When I was running away, I thought that I was doing the right thing, I thought... well - I was scared of you. While in actuality, I think I was scared of _me_. Of the way I felt when I was around you, of the possibilities and dreams that came to mind whenever we were together. The prospect of a future that was so much more than the life of the average Alchemist; of the newfangled defiance I'd gotten of everything that I used to believe in." I opened my mouth to reply, to say something - _anything,_ but she spoke before I could. "Who was I kidding, though, really?" She scoffed. "I _have_ changed. I'm never going to be able to go back from this. From Palm Springs. From Mrs.T's absurd ramblings to Jill's kind words to Angeline's ridiculous outbursts. From Eddie's supporting friendship to you and you're... _everything_." She rambled.

I sucked in a breath that turned into an awkward cough. What was I supposed to say to something like that? She sounded so earnest, so frank. Suddenly, she blushed. It was adorable. "I didn't mean to blurt all that out." I shook my head. "No, I'm glad you did." Sydney sighed, leaning onto my shoulder and staring at the flames. "You know what, Ivashkov?"

"Yes, Sage?"

"Whatever this is, whatever is stirring. I think we're going to face it and I think we're going to make it." I arched an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

"I just am." She confirmed. I laughed. "The world is upside down. You want to believe in miracles and I'm the cynical one."

I glanced at her and she smiled, her face incandescent in a yellowish glow due to the flames. "There's a poem by Robert Frost, that talks about how the world would end in either fire or ice," Sydney muttered. "I always thought that the world ending in ice would make more sense. Scientists have tons of theories with supporting evidence for this, and there have been at least five major ice age's in the past." She went on. I nodded, I didn't know where she was going with this, but I liked it when she explained things to me. "So?" I nudged her a little in the arm, so that she would go on. "So there's a line in the first verse that goes 'from what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire'," she bit her lip before going on. "I get that now. I feel like that when I'm with you..." her voice trailed off.

I grinned, "Fire it is."


	12. The Not-So Fairytale Ending

**Chapter Twelve :** Sydney

* * *

_Something always brings me back to you  
__It never takes too long._

_You're on to me, and all over me..._

* * *

It felt like something out of a fairytale.

The weather outside was getting worse and when Adrian realized that I wasn't going to be able to sleep after my encounter with the strigoi, he offered to stay up with me for however long I wanted. I felt guilty about it, but he wouldn't leave me with another option. Just a little while after midnight, he stood up and offered me his hand. I looked up at him with a slight frown. "May I have this dance?"

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing; he looked positively ridiculous in the wrinkled t-shirt and the worn out jeans he was wearing. I could tell that his voice was dangerously low, almost, seductive. Somehow, it was still working because I couldn't help but put my hand in his. "There's no music," I pointed out. "We don't need it." He confirmed.

He squeezed my hand, practically whisked me to my feet and yanked me into him. He placed his right hand on my waist, to rest on my back; one long finger finding a strip of bare skin right under the hem of my shirt. I tried not to shiver at the warmth spreading inside me and the electrifying tingling sensation that was creeping up and down my spine. I placed my hand in his left one, his was warm and strong. Good. He could steady me if my knees buckled and I stumbled, which, if I was being quite honest - I wasn't too far away from.

We swayed to the crackling of the fire after that, our feet in perfect sync with one another. I didn't dance much, but I knew how to do it so keeping up with Adrian seemed to come naturally to me. Like instinct. I looked into his eyes. They gleamed in the firelight, almost deceiving. At first glance, they were as green as they always have been, but if you looked directly into them for longer - they were almost black, and in the dull gleam of the fire, they seemed to change colors in a kaliedoscope effect. It was mesmerizing, fathomless as the night sky. I took a shaky breath as he pulled me even closer, his face so close to mine that I could feel his minty breath on my face.

"You were right," I whispered, "No music needed." He grinned, twirling me around before pulling me back to him. I snuggled closer, resting my head against his shoulder as we swayed to the silence, I had only been in Mexico with Marcus for a month, but it had been too long. I'd almost forgotten how perfectly we fit with one another. Adrian was tall, but I wasn't exactly short, and my head came just a little over his jawline. I still had to tilt my head sometimes, to look into his eyes; but when I was in his arms, I felt like we fit like two pieces of the same jigsaw puzzle. Perfectly. I took another raspy breath, the warmth burning me up from the inside, starting at the pit of my stomach and making its way to the tips of my toes. I hadn't felt this peaceful for a long time. I stared at the wall in front of us. Our shadows gleamed in the dim glow of the fire. Black and gold.

Adrian twirled me around one more time; and I giggled softly. "From what I remember however, you used to be a better dancer." I teased. He thought about this. "Perhaps you're right. It's just... Love makes me lazy. It's a dangerous drug, kills more brain cells than crystal meth. How's your cell count these days?" I licked my lips, his enticing perfume attacking my nose. "Mm," I mumbled dazedly, "I can still do long division, but I can't quite remember all the continents."

Adrian stared at me, although he didn't stop the dance. "What?" I tilted my head back slightly so I could meet his eyes. "Did I just get you to admit that you're in love with me?" I made a sound that was in between a snort and a chuckle.

"You don't need to ask a question you already know the answer to."

Something flickered in Adrian's eyes: something like astonishment. I frowned, there were no boundaries between us anymore, no secrets. How could there be? I could lie to him and tell him that I didn't reciprocate his feelings, but he would know because he has already been inside my head. So why did he look so floored? The look faded and he broke into a small smile, his eyes sparkling with desire. I didn't have to be in his head to know what he was about to do. He had that look in his eyes, the one that he always had when he was about to kiss me. This time, I wasn't going to hold back, and I knew that he wasn't either.

He leaned in, and I started to wonder why I ever let him go in the first place.

He kissed just as wonderfully as he always had, and it was almost like all those days in between when things between us were rocky didn't exist and didn't matter. It was only us. It was only this moment. It was only the warmth of the flames towards my right, and the reposition of our shadows towards my left. I had shared kisses with Adrian before but this one left them all in the dust. In some ways it felt the same way; breathless, engulfing, dizzying, overwhelming. My desires and needs taking control of my brain and body and soul; so much so that I forgot where I was, who I was, what I was doing here. All that mattered was his lips on mine; the enticing brushing of skin on skin; the way it felt to lose myself inside another human being. This one however, had a slightly different vibe. It was all those things of course; but it was more. I got the feeling that one gets when they return home after a long journey abroad, the wonderful stir inside your stomach when there is a drop on a rollercoaster, the warmth of the fresh morning sunshine on my skin. That's what it felt like... Like happiness.

And not the brief happiness that you sometimes get from an externally induced high, not the happiness that emanates from inside you when you hear good news. This... This was the kind of happiness that was long lasting, even if it was extremely brief and probably didn't last for more than a couple of minutes; like the happiness that comes when you save a life, permanent; forever. I knew instantly that this would be one of those moments I would look back on, and smile about. No matter what happened.

Maybe time wasn't on our side, maybe we didn't have a lot of days left, maybe Ivy would win. At least I would die knowing that I was happy, for one moment, for one brief, marvelous moment; all was right in the world.

His mouth broke away only to take some brief breaths before he quickly pulled me back into him, I grabbed hold of his hair and wrapped my legs around his waist as he hoisted me up, cradling me. I couldn't be certain, but it surely felt like the world around us was spinning.

The fireplace, the carpet beneath our feet, the walls surrounding us - everything.

He kissed me back with a hungry force, and I returned just as much. It was magic, the way his lips connected with mine. It was right, and somehow, among all of the dizziness and the clinging to him like a life line, something inside me changed, never to be reversed. This new feeling could be dwelled upon later, because, for now, I was content to feel his breath in tune with mine. I thought back on our journey together, from the first time we spoke to our first dance to our first kiss to the heart wrenching moment I walked away from him. And now here we were, with confined lust and a new found respect for one another and it was... immense, inordinate... shattering. The butterflies in my stomach were doing cartwheels and splits. And every nerve in my body tingled. I was charged with fire.

Everything else just seemed idle and disregarded. Nothing mattered expect the two of us. As my arms held on to his neck a little tighter, and one of my hands fisted in his brown hair, he smiled against my lips. I thought about stopping, but there was something almost magnetic about his embrace and I couldn't build up the strength to do it. I could feel his cool fingers on the small of my back, and a tremor shook my body.

We moved as one; in a perfect rhythm.

As one of my hands ran down his back, I could feel him take a deep breath. Our kissing grew more intense; more hungry and violent. If that was even possible; the raw passion was enough to drive a person with regular sexual caliber insane. I pushed him against the cold floor and was now on top of him, the kissing continued. Growing more heated by the second; my tongue battled for dominance against his. I could feel the sweat trickling down my forehead, and Adrian decided to help me with that. His hands worked fast, pulling my shirt off of me and throwing it aside. He didn't stop there; while I passionately traced wet circles down his neck, he started to tug up the tank top I wore underneath it in hopes of ripping it off completely—To be rid of any hurdle that came his way.

Suddenly, I realized what was happening.

_Calm down, Sydney. If you go any further..._

But it felt so good... After a sharp intake of breath, I somehow managed to peel my lips off his and brought my head up. I was panting and so was he, I could feel his torso rising and falling rapidly under me as he gazed up and met my eyes. In the light of the fire, my reflection formed a golden spec inside his pupils. When he could finally breathe properly, a smug, satisfied grin shone across his face. "I was wondering how far we could keep this going before your moral code kicked in."

I groaned, covering his mouth with my hand. "Don't ruin the moment, Ivashkov."

He chuckled a little, still breathing heavily. I frowned down at him, my disheveled blonde hair falling over my face. I immediately discerned that I was still on top of him and that my tank top was still pulled up; I caught the look on his face as his eyes swiveled towards my bare stomach. He nodded approvingly at my mid-section and I choked back a groan, pulling it back down. "Sage, I don't want to sound like a prick when I say this - and I mean it in the nicest way, but if you expect me to be the gentleman and contain myself, you are going to have to get off of me."

I got off of him, and offered him my hand so that I could help him up. I shrugged, making a swift yet persistent decision. "I don't recall saying anything along the lines of that." Adrian stared at me, I could tell he was biting his lip really hard to keep his jaw from dropping. When he could finally speak, he mumbled, "You halted it..."

"Yes." I agreed. "I think we should move this party to the bedroom."

Adrian let his jaw drop. I smiled slightly, "I want you, Adrian. All of you."

I think he wanted to say something smarter, all that came out was. "Huh..." He shook his head, "I mean... Are you sure? You - You don't have to do anything that you don't want to. There's n - no rush." Despite his words, I could already see that he was still driven by his lust and love for me, and that he wanted this just as badly as I did.

I had been playing him, pulling his strings all this while and it was wrong. Right now, I had to make a decision. Either I never see him again or see him for the rest of his life. My answer to that was so immediate it took me aback as well. I was done worrying, caring about what other people thought, I was done with the denial and the running away, I was done pretending to be the picture of rationality that I was pretty sure I wasn't. I could take a night to dwell over it and come to a prudent conclusion, but I didn't want that. My decision was final.

"I'm serious. I... I want this, I want you. As I said, what ever is to come, we'll face it together. We always have. We're stronger together; happier, better. And... I _love_ you. More than I've ever loved anything or anyone. There are a lot of things that I'm uncertain about in my life, Adrian. You... You aren't one of them. I know that this is right."

Adrian looked mindblown, his expression changed from anxiousness to happiness to blind lust. For a second though, he just looked into my eyes lovingly.

"But what about-" he started, I cut him off by closing the space between us. "Apres Moi, Le Deluge." I muttered before I pulled him into his own bedroom and crushed my mouth to his once more. Between frantic kisses he asked, "What's that mean?"

"The world could collapse after this, I don't care."

xxxxx

"Do you?" Lissa asked. "It would be okay, if you did."

I wasn't sure that someone whose shirt was covered in blood and who had a massive bullet wound through her chest should be talking about things being _okay_.

"Yes." I replied. "I think I love him." The queen of the Royal Moroi court smiled, seemingly satisfied with my response. Her long, platinum blonde hair framed her pale face, and her jade green eyes stared into mine with such intensity that I had to look away. She sat in front of me.

"So what do I do now? Should I be worried?" Lissa's expression turned sad; wistful. "It's not that simple," she said. "No, it's not. Why do I feel like this? I shouldn't get involved with him again, it will only cause more problems. We are this ticking time bomb, and when we explode - we will leave hell in our wake... But the only time that I ever feel anything is when... Something's wrong with me." I declare.

"I'm sorry," Lissa said. She touched one hand to the wound in her breast, but the blood didn't stain her hands. They stayed white and clean. "It may be your greatest weakness, but it might as well be your greatest strength. You just have to trust."

"Trust in what?"

"Your heart." Lissa smiled again. I frowned. "What have you come here for?" Lissa's smile was gone. She looked right at me again, her eyes twinkling. "She will come, and when she does, she will want him. He is the link." I shook my head. "What?"

"You can put a stop to it, I think. That's why I'm here."

"Me? No," I groaned. "How can I do anything?" She thought about this. "You've got those handy powers of yours." I grimaced. "You know a lot about me for someone who doesn't know me."

"Yet," Lissa said, cryptically.

"Yet," I agreed. "Can you help?"

"I'm afraid I cannot at the moment. Kinda got a big hole in me."

"You should fix that. Maybe see a doctor?" I suggested.

Lissa waved the suggestion off. "It won't happen. If all goes to plan."

"What if it doesn't?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it. You're on the case. You always win, don't you, Sydney? I may not know you yet, but I do know that." Her smile brightened a couple of notches, and she looked away towards something I couldn't see. "You might want to wake up, now. Your boy is getting antsy."

"He's not... my boy." I mumbled quietly, my voice came out unsure.

Lissa grinned. "Oh, but he is."

xxxxx

A door slammed, jarring me awake. I sat up in bed, stretched to work the kink out of my neck and looked up. "Adrian?" I asked. "What are you doing?"

"I'm out of smokes!" He cried, stomping back into the room. I bit my lip. He didn't look as good as I expected him to, his hair was mussed, although that could possibly have been from the acts of last night. His eyes were heavy and glassy, he wore a shirt with it's buttons all undone, and boxer briefs. Under that, he wore socks. I tried not to giggle at how he looked, Adrian was usually very well dressed. That's when I realized that something must be wrong and my jovial mood debated a little. I peeked under the comforter, I was naked. I sighed. "Relax, okay? You can grab some cigarettes later and now since we're together again, maybe you should reinstate that promise you made me and quit once and for all?" I suggested, as I found my bra lying on the floor. Swiftly, I picked it up with my toes and started to put it back on under the covers. "I can't do that." He groaned, stomping his foot and pacing the length of the room. "You could try; or at least cut down." My voice was quiet.

"It keeps me from going insane! It keeps her out of my head. It _HELPS_! Okay? I need them!" He exclaimed, hastily trying to do his buttons - but I noticed his fingers were shaking. That confirmed my fears, something was certainly wrong. "Adrian," I tried to keep my voice as calm as possible. "Pass me my clothes, please?"

He tossed them at me.

After getting dressed in an embarrassing haste, I slipped out of bed and walked over to him. He was still trying to do his buttons, but failing miserably. "Here," I placed a hand on his cheek, hoping it would calm him down a little. He was breathing very fast. I started to do his buttons for him, one at a time. When I was done, I patted his shirt to get rid of a crease that appeared over his chest pocket and looked up into his eyes. Suddenly, it was like something in him snapped and they went wide.

"Sage..." He took a shaky breath. "It's okay," I whispered, taking him by the arm slowly and gently seating him on the edge of the bed. I climbed in next to him and rubbed his shoulder. "Bad day for your average spirit user?" I murmured softly. He scoffed, "Everyday's a bad day for us."

I smiled at him hopefully, watching the colour returning to his cheeks. "I'm sorry. I must sound so pathetic, apologizing to you every two seconds. Last night... It was the happiest night of my life, Sage - and I've had some sweet ones." I dropped my hand, pulling him close and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I can safely say that the feeling was mutual."

"I should have been beside you when you woke up. I... I should have been watching you sleep and stroking your hair and -" I shook my head no, "Shh..." I placed a finger to my lip. "It's not your fault. We both know that. Plus, this gives us an excuse to get out of bed."

He arched an eyebrow. I shrugged at him, "What? You think I would have been motivated to get out of bed if you had been laying next to me looking all irresistible? I'm only human, Ivashkov."

He laughed, his smile brightening up his entire face, which was bathed in morning sunlight.

Sunlight!

I rushed towards the windows and peeked outside. Surely enough, last night's storm had died down. While the vicinity was still overspread in a thick, seemingly impalpable layer of snow, the sun was high in the sky and it's rays gleamed off the blanket of snow like a million tiny diamonds.

"Let me guess," Adrian said, walking over to me. "No more cabin fever?"

xxxxx

Mrs. T looked like she'd just been in a wrestling match with her clowder of cats.

She looked much worse than the last time I'd seen her. Her eyes were still tired and droopy, her hair was a rat's nest and apparently all that polishing had come with a price; her glasses seemed broken. She had them slovenly taped together at the bridge of her nose. "I cannot believe you did not tell me about this Strigoi attack sooner, Miss Melrose." She sounded tense. More so than usual.

I grimaced, "I'm sorry, all the phone lines were dead. I did try to call you, though." Adrian nodded vigorously, trying his best to stand up for me. "We're totally fine, by the way! We didn't turn into a Strigoi Happy Meal, if you were wondering." His sarcasm was palpable, but Mrs. T simply huffed. "I have faith in your abilities, you two should be experts when it comes to Strigoi by now."

I laughed flatly due to the tragic irony of that sentence. It was true. Adrian and I had a bad history when it came to being attacked by Strigoi.

Eddie slammed his fist against the table.

Everyone spun their heads around to look at him. "I should have been there!" I gave him an appreciative smile. "You didn't need to, besides you have to take care of Jill. That's more important." Jill frowned. "But -" Surprisingly, Mrs. T cut her off. "There's no arguing with Miss Melrose, she clearly has the capability to handle minor issues."

I bit my lip. I was happy that Mrs. T had faith in my abilities, but _minor_? We almost got killed.

I would hardly term that as a minor issue. The truth was, the strigoi attack had rattled me more than I'd like to have admitted. I could still see her hollow, red eyes looking into mine everytime I shut my eyes. I could still feel her raspy breath on my face. She'd been so devoted to her cause, like she was a hundred percent sure that Ivy was going to win. It hadn't done good things for my self confidence.

"How did you do it?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "Yeah! Did you break a neck? Crack some bones?" Angeline asked enthusiastically, rubbing her knuckles against each other - I could tell the poor girl was itching for a good fight.

All I had done was used a few new spells that I had recently learned. The first one was called a neuralgia spell, it caused immense pain along the detrimental nerves inside one's head. It was quite full-proof, worked on any creature - as long as they had a head. The other spell was sort of your run-of-the-mill containment spell. It's what kept the strigoi in her seat, it could coerce a creature into a vegetable like state. That's why it was practically impossible for her to move her limbs; she was frozen in place.

I spared the gang the details and simply shrugged. "I had a few spells up my sleeve."

Mrs. T eyed me curiously, but the rest of them seemed satisfied. Jill sat on the couch, fiddling with her hair. She looked alright, and I had spoken to Eddie as soon as we'd left Adrian's house, they were all fine. Jill spent the night in Amberwood and so did the others.

I wanted to be relieved, but the way Jill was behaving today told me that there was something she wasn't telling the rest of us. As Mrs. T launched into a frantic speech, I sat down next to Jill and tapped her shoulder. She looked up at me with a start.

"Oh, hey Sydney." She offered me a tight smile. "Are you okay, Jill?" I asked. She bit her lip, "I'm alright. Didn't Eddie tell you? It's all good." I tilted my head, "Then why do you look so glum? What's really bothering you?" Jill was a talented girl, but lying wasn't one of her many fortes. Her shoulders slumped as she leaned back into the chair.

"I don't want to talk about it. Can we just leave it be... for now?"

She sounded so earnest that I couldn't help but nod. "Fine," I started. "Only if you promise to let me know what's going on when you're ready." She smiled once more, it was half-hearted, but for now; it would just have to do. "I will. Thanks for understanding."

I tuned back into Mrs. T. "The mystical wall we put up has been working so far. Ivy can't get in, at least not for the next couple of days. This buys us time. I do, have some grave news to share with you all, however." She said, tampering with the frizzy hair on her head.

"I didn't know there was any other kind." Adrian muttered pessimistically. "What is it?" I asked. "Is it more evil snow?" Angeline whined.

Mrs. T sighed, "The psych wards at hospitals all around the city have been filling up. People are, quite literally, going insane. There have been reports of mad cases eversince the storm started, and they've only been increasing in number."

She shuffled through her desk and pulled out a stack of newspapers, straightening her glasses before reading on. "Local truck driver crashes into a ditch, forty-one year old shoots himself at two in the morning, three children jump onto railway tracks, killing themselves -"

I cringed and Jill stood up. "Stop!" She exclaimed. Everyone turned to look at her, she sighed. "Please - don't read any further."

Once she sat back down, I gave her shoulders a light reassuring squeeze. Although I wasn't quite sure which one of us I was reassuring. Adrian ran a hand through his hair, "You think this is all somehow connected to our very own female incarnation of Satan?" Mrs. T shook her head. "No, Mr. Ivashkov. I am quite certain that this has all to do with her. Only someone dwelling in the dark arts for years and years may have the scope to achieve a feat of such preposterous measures. In fact, I am not quite sure if it is even possible at all..."

He gasped. "She causes storms and insanity!"

I blinked at Adrian. I had a feeling the others were just as perplexed. "What?" Eddie questioned. "She... She was banished from the world; exiled a long time ago. She had powers akin to a goddess. She's known as the end. She mentioned the world crumbling into chaos... and that she causes storms and insanity. She wields the actual power to drive people nuts. That's what she told me, anyway."

Mrs. T frowned, taking her glasses off and staring at Adrian.

"Who are you talking about, Mr. Ivashkov? Who told you this?"

Adrian thought about this for a second, his eyes swiveling everywhere - like he was searching for the answers in the air. Finally, he sighed. "It doesn't matter. Is this information correct?" Mrs. T nodded, still looking rather puzzled. "As long as I know, yes. Some of my coven sisters have mentioned something of the sort."

Adrian nodded, then looked me right in the eyes and I suddenly understood. It must have come to him during a dream. Well, not any dream. The visions that the amalgamation spell induced. His spirit guide must have told him. I knew because I'd had my very own spirit guide.

"So what do we do now? I don't want to stand by and watch as the world goes up in flames!" Neil cried. It was the first time he had shown so much emotion so outwardly; I'd always found him rather dispassionate. He looked dead afraid, and I couldn't help but sympathize with his situation. He had been assigned to be Jill's guardian - he hadn't been taught the same ideals. It came to me as a surprise that he was taking all of this as well as he was, it was overwhelming stuff afterall. I remembered that I was once in the same position as he was now in, and I'd felt lost and apprehensive too.

"We all have to keep a calm mind, we won't be making much of a difference if we start fretting right now." I suggested, standing up. "The world's in danger. I think fretting is permitted." Jill pointed out. "No," Adrian said. "You don't have to fret. In fact, fretting is totally overrated, I'm perfectly fine with blissful ignorance. Let's change the subject."

I sighed, everyone was clearly freaked out. I wanted to aid the situation, but I had a feeling I would just make it worse. So I looked at Mrs. T for allegiance.

"Everything is under control... for now." Mrs. T announced helpfully.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated inside my pocket and I pulled it out. "I'll uh... be right back," I muttered, excusing myself as I walked into Mrs. T's unkept bedroom and shut the door behind me. "Hello?"

"Hello, Sydney? We have to talk."

I froze. Every muscle inside my body tensed. I knew that voice. I recognized it. It was when I'd met her that my life had changed so drastically, it had been the defining moment of my existence.

It was Rose Hathaway.

xxxxx

She stood alone across the campus. Her face showing no emotions whatsoever.

My walk turned into a steady jog as I hurried to catch up to where she stood, the snow made the pathway very hard to walk on; but I tried my best anyway. Rose was here, and despite the fact that I both liked and admired her, I was pretty sure that meant bad news. Rose was unpredictable, nothing was ever quite certain when it came to her. As far as I knew, she could have been calling because she needed to hitch a ride to the Sahara Desert.

When I finally caught up to her, I offered her a genuine smile. She smiled back - but it wasn't her smile that told me that something was seriously wrong. It was her stance. She had both her arms crossed over her chest, she was dressed in a tight black leather jacket that she had zipped up to her throat. Her expression was stoic.

Only I knew that expression all too well. It was the same one Alchemist Sydney wore.

"This better not involve another daring escape plan and a Honda CR-V," I joked.

I could tell she was suppressing a smile. "Palm Springs has treated you well, then? The newfangled sense of humor is certainly welcome."

I gasped mockingly, clasping a hand to my heart. "I've always been _hilarious._"

Her smile vanished, to be replaced with a slight frown and I began to wonder if it was something I'd said. It was then that I felt him behind me. Adrian. _Of course.  
_  
I wasn't jealous of Rose. I was NOT jealous of Rose.

It was just slightly awkward, Rose was Adrian's ex-girlfriend, and while they hadn't exactly been nuts for each other, their break-up hadn't really ended on a cheery note, either. I knew it had hit Adrian hard at the time. After experiencing the whole thing inside his head, things were just ten times more awkward. Not to mention Rose had no idea that Adrian and I were together now, or that we'd ever been involved at all. According to her, Adrian was still that no-good, snarky womanizer that he had been when she'd left him. We had to present ourselves as nothing more than mere acquaintances.

I could practically feel the tension sizzling between the three of us even in the airy Amberwood campus.

"Rose Hathaway," Adrian said in an overly chirpy voice. "I was told you were making our acquaintance. Did Belikov bend the rules of time and space to get you here so fast? He can do that, right?"

Rose didn't crack a smile at the jab, and I could tell Adrian sensed her melancholy. She still looked beautiful, of course. Rose always did. Today however, she looked gaunt and worn out. Her long brunette hair which she usually kept open was tied back into a high ponytail. Her eyes were bloodshot, the skin surrounding them puffy and pale. Another thing I noticed missing was the fire in her eyes; the look of absolute determination that guardians always wore. There were circles under her eyes, and I had the feeling that the redness in her nose wasn't simply due to the cold. Her mascara was slightly smudged too; I could practically sense something wasn't right.

Rose simply sighed, I watched her breath go up in a white whisp. "Look guys, I'd love to catch up over tea and scones but..." her voice seemed to crack. "There are drastic issues at hand."

Even Adrian straightened up at that, "What's going on, Little Damphir?"

"It's Lissa," her voice cracked once more, and I could tell she was fighting back tears again.

"She's dissapeared."

xxxxx

"What happened?" I cried. Rose shook her head, her mouth curving into a frown. "We don't know - but the Queen of the Royal Moroi Court has gone missing, everything back home is in chaos. Everyone's freaking out, we haven't exactly had a very lucky romp when it comes to queens."

I gulped. "You... You think...?"

"We don't know," Rose repeated. "I've - I've lost the bond. Otherwise I could have known, I could have known whether she was alive or dead but right now, I know nothing at all. She could be anywhere."

Adrian's voice was strangely calm. "When did Liss go missing?"

"Around last night. The strange thing is... her bed was untouched, the guards didn't see anyone come in or go out. There were no signs of a forced entry. It's like she simply vanished. Now tell me - even in our world, how is that plausible? How does a human being just... evaporate into thin air leaving no trace whatsoever?" Her voice sounded so desperate I forgot all my envy and had the instant urge to fling my arms around her.

Which was when I remembered... My prophetic dream. Maybe I was the only one with some kind of idea as to what was going on. This was Ivy's doing. Lissa had spoken to me in my dream, she had a bullet hole through her chest. I didn't remember every word of our short conversation, but I did remember that she was reassuring me. Telling me that I could put a stop to it, and that it will be fine if all goes to plan.

"She's alive," I suddenly muttered. Both Adrian and Rose fixed their eyes on me. "How do you know?" Rose asked carefully, her words coming out slowly, like she was afraid of the sound of her own voice. "I just... know. Look, it's hard to explain. You've just got to trust me, alright?" Rose shook her head like she didn't understand. I couldn't blame her; not really.

"Have there been any leads yet?" Adrian questioned. Rose nodded no, "Dimitri is leading a search operation, everyone at Court has been approached to stay on the look out. There are several other search squads spread out across the area. We have been informing everyone, even the tiniest bit of info is helpful right now. That's why I came to you guys in person, doing this on the phone... It just didn't feel right. Lissa was talking about you, Adrian... the day she dissapeared. And I knew about all the phone calls between the two of you; discussing about elemental magic tipping out of balance. I just thought... you might know something we don't." She sounded desperate, afraid, even.

Rose afraid? That was never a good thing.

I couldn't say I didn't understand the gravity of the situation. Lissa Dragomir was the greatest queen the Moroi Royal Court had accustomed to in a long time, and she was Rose's best friend. She and Rose had even shared a bond together after Lissa had brought Rose back to life; since she was a spirit user like Adrian.

I met Adrian's eyes; briefly. He wore a look of dejection. I shook my head, Rose deserved to know after what had happened to her best friend. "There's something going on. Something big - we are pretty sure that's the root cause of all our problems. Elemental magic spiralling out of control, Lissa's dissapearence, everything." I explained.

Rose cracked her knuckles, "Then tell me whose doing it so that I can put a stop to it immediately! I swear to god I will _kill_ whoever lays a hand on her!" She exclaimed.

"That's the thing, it's not just your average bad guy," Adrian added, "We're pretty sure it's some kind of ancient evil who is sort of an expert when it comes to black magic and very powerful." Rose's jaw dropped. "Are you guys bullshitting, or do you actually expect me to believe you are being serious?" I sighed, "Do we look like we're making this up? This evil - she is after spirit users, that's one thing we're sure of. See, she needs them to do her bidding. It's the only way she'll succeed, which is why I'm sure Lissa's alive. Spirit users aren't exactly spread out to the population of China, after all."

"She _who_?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"That's where things get kind of complicated." Adrian said.

xxxxx

"Have a safe flight back," I told Rose at the airport. She smiled slightly, "Sure, that's my biggest concern right now - airplane food."

"Seriously though, you take care. Okay?" She nodded, before pausing to give me a big bear hug. I hugged her back. After we sat down and explained everything to Rose, she believed that we weren't crazy. She said that she would hold the fort back at Court, and hold us as her back-up ammunition. She would alert the authorities the best she could, and even send a word across to her father, Abe Mazur, so that people would take the threat seriously. Thanks to Rose, we now stood more of a chance in the case of an actual apoclypse.

As she started to walk away, I called out to her again. "Hey, Rose?" She turned around and arched an eyebrow at me. "Yeah?"

"It wasn't your fault. You know that, right?"

She didn't respond, she simply gave me yet another cryptic smile and jogged off, fading into the crowded terminal. I sighed as I trudged back to Adrian's mustang. He had offered to drive her to the airport since she had only planned on a quick visit and was ready to go back to Court as soon as we finished explaining things to her. He didn't seem too keen on getting out of the car with us, though, so they bid each other goodbye in the car itself and I dropped her off.

The weather was still chilly as ever. I predicted that the frostbite would get to me before any witch who dwelled in the dark arts would. My nose almost burned from all the cold, and I was pretty sure I couldn't feel my ears. I tugged at my jacket as I reached the mustang. It was late evening and there was no sun visible, though I assumed the sun wouldn't set for another half an hour or so at least. A gentle wind carrying indications of coming snow was already building as I got into the car and shut the door as quickly as I could. Thankfully, it was much warmer inside, thanks to the car heater. I pulled out my gloves and rubbed my pallid hands together to generate some heat.

"Tough sail?" Adrian asked. I scoffed, "Tough life."

Most of the drive to Amberwood was made in silence until he spoke up. "It must be so hard for Rose, losing Liss like that. I've never seen her that rattled before, not even when she was gearing up to set off on a mission to kill Belikov." I nodded, looking out the window.

"I know. She thinks that it's her fault."

"The despair on her face... God, it got me thinking about how I would feel if I ever lost you like that. I think I'd be crushed; I'd probably lose my will to live."

I pressed my lips together before turning to glare at him. "Don't talk like that. We'll be fine."

At that exact moment, Adrian's grip on the steering wheel loosened and the car jerked, swiveling to the right side of the road sharply. I heard a scream, it could have been my own, I wasn't too sure. Then we crashed and my head hit something hard. The last thing I saw was the strange dazed look on Adrian's face.


	13. Waking Dreams

**Chapter Thirteen: **Adrian

* * *

_I've come undone,  
but you make sense of who I am,_  
_like puzzle pieces in your hand._

* * *

The darkness was all consuming.

Overpowering. Where was I? Wasn't I supposed to be somewhere else? The last thing I remembered was... Okay, scary. I couldn't remember anything. Not good. Maybe I could focus on the things that I _did_ remember. Things like... _My name is Adrian Ivashkov. I am the son of Nathan and Daniella Ivashkov, I am a Moroi vampire. I posses the atypical powers of spirit_. Better. At least I knew who I was.

I started to walk; my eyes were adjusting to the blackness by now. I stood in a long, seemingly endless corridor. I couldn't see anything but the dark ahead so I turned behind; nothing. There was nothing behind me but a wide dark wall that seemed to have no end and no beginning. Most of it was obscured by shadows. I couldn't make out the colour. I kept walking. "Hello?" I called out. "Anybody there?"

No response.

What the hell was going on? How did I end up here? I pushed on, the only sounds I heard came from me; I could hear the sound of my footsteps thumping against the hard floor, I could feel the ringing of my racing heartbeat inside my ears. It was strange...

I felt like I was forgetting something. But what was it?

I was supposed to be somewhere else, I wasn't supposed to be here. Why couldn't I recall anything, past or present? I tried to think hard, ruminate until I found something solid to hold on to; I couldn't extract a single detail from my life. Was I... Was I even alive?

Was this even real?

Suddenly, I heard a soft hiss, and a brisk movement in between the shadows. It was gone as quick as it had come. I felt myself frown, something was here.

I wasn't alone.

Was I supposed to keep walking? It was the only thing that was tangible; it seemed to be the only thing that made any sense. My heartbeat was getting louder and faster, almost like it was trying to tell me something that my brain just wasn't able to digest. My breathing was starting to fall in step with my racing heartbeat.

The temperature began to drop, it was getting colder. So, so much colder. I wasn't even wearing a jacket. I felt my teeth rattle as I hugged my arms around myself, the action not helping since I could now see wisps of my white breath fading into the still air. The temperature was falling faster now, dropping below zero degrees Celsius.

The hissing returned; this time it was louder, more audible. An ominous black figure that I couldn't make out whizzed past me again, something solid as rock slammed into my shoulder blade and the shooting pain that crept up my arm had my knees wobbling as I fell to the floor in a crouch.

The hissing still wouldn't stop. The pain in my arm was getting worse, and it seemed to be making it's way up my neck; towards my jaw and into my skull. Suddenly, I felt myself numb and unable to move. My jaw dropped open as I watched the frost cover my right arm.

I was... freezing. Turning into a frozen statue.

I... I was going to die.

The hissing was now so loud that I couldn't hear anything else; it rattled my brain cells and seemed to protest against my eardrums. The rest of my body would soon be lifeless, I had to do something but... what? So I did the only logical thing that one did before they died; one thing that showed I wasn't going to go down with a fight.

I screamed, so loud that I felt it rumble inside of my chest as it began reverberating throughout the boundless corridor, drowning out the hissing. The metallic taste of my own blood filled my mouth and then it was over.

xxxxx

When my eyes adjusted, I was inside a car and... very much alive.

I felt my eyes widen as it all came back to me, I swiftly pulled off my seatbelt and cried out. "Sydney!" Her head was tilted against the window, she was unconscious - but alive. There were no scars or no blood as far as I could tell, I tried to ignore the pool of insurmountable guilt that seemed to be flooding into the pit of my stomach as I gently took her head in my hands and shook her shoulders lightly.

"Hey, wake up," I whispered, leaning over to click off her seatbelt and pull her to me. I rested her head against my shoulder and tapped her cheek a few times, "Wake up, you... You're okay, Sydney-" I had to gulp a few times to keep my voice from cracking. My heart pounded inside my chest and my throat felt dry.

"Please, please... God, Sage..." Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head up. "Adrian?" her voice was flummoxed, but she didn't sound like she was in pain.

She groaned, "What happened?" She pushed herself back into her seat and rubbed the back of her head. My eyes fell upon the window, her head must have slammed against it. "I..." I looked out my own window and grimaced, "I lost control of the wheel. We're okay, though..." Sydney frowned, her amber eyes narrowed.

"Which one of us are you trying to reassure?"

I shrugged - at this point, I wasn't too sure.

"We've steered off to the side of the road," I muttered. Sydney sighed, "I'm going to go check if there's been any exterior damage. There better not be, a mustang isn't a cheap car." She walked out of the car and circled the vehicle, to check for dents or scratches. She pulled up the hood to make sure the engine was unharmed; then she shut it back down and examined the tires before knocking on my window. I opened the door and she snapped her fingers. "I'm going to drive now." I nodded, surrendering to her as I slipped shotgun.

It was probably for the best. Now that I knew both Sydney and the mustang were alright; I needed some time to figure out exactly how I had ended up dreaming while wide awake.

xxxxx

It was one of the coldest nights yet.

I stared at the bottom of my empty liquer glass as I felt the last of the golden liquid burn against my throat. Ice and snow had fallen on Palm Springs' streets in thick sheets, sticking to everything it fell upon. The temperature was probably way below zero by now, the puddles had frozen into hard pools of ice, the leaves on the trees were now solid little gems glinting softly in the moonlight filtering through the clouds above, and my fingers were so cold they felt like they would drop off at any moment.

One would think, that being inside a warm house, wrapped in god knows how many layers of winter clothes and a woolen blanket, would prevent my digits from turning into icicles, but oh no. As I gripped the side of the book, I could hardly feel my fingers but for a dull ache in the joints. I pushed the glass away and tried to focus on the words.

Sydney had specifically asked for me to read this book; not only did it contain some mythology surrounding strange events like the ones Ivy was causing; it also had some information on how to perform a certain spell; which was the last one that Sydney and I had left to cross off Mrs.T's requested list.

I peered once more at the words on the pages, but for some reason, I couldn't read a thing. The words seemed to be floating around the page, some falling right off of it, others blending into one another to form longer, incoherent words. Frantically, I ran a hand through my hair, flipping the pages around; hoping that the next page would make more sense than the previous one to no avail.

I stomped my foot against the hardwood floor a minute later, still unsuccessful in trying to suss out the meaning of those words. Why wasn't I able to read? What the hell was going on? I finally gave up, tossing the book against the wall and standing up in surrender. I could feel my heart pounding violently inside my chest; but I paid it no more attention.

Frustrated now, I began to walk towards my bedroom - perhaps a good night's sleep would help. Maybe then I would be able to read again, I also wanted to check on Sydney, who had insisted to spend the night here with me since I hadn't been feeling too well.

I kept my footsteps as quiet as possible - careful not to wake Sydney up. The bedroom was obtruded in shadows that seemed to form grotesque faceless shapes on the walls around them, however I was pretty sure that was my eyes playing tricks on me. The street lamps shone dim gold light on the snow outside the window I stood by, reminding me of the color of Sydney's resplendent hair gleaming in the sunlight.

As I walked over to the bed however, I realized that Sydney was not in it and that I was alone. I scratched the back of my head, wondering if I'd sent Sydney home after all.

Damn it, I couldn't even remember.

Maybe I was going insane sooner than I'd imagined.

I frowned, sauntering over to the mirror that stood next to my bed. There was a crack in the mirror, I couldn't help but notice. A dull, knackered guy stared back at me and I refused to believe that this was what I looked like now. My hair was mussed, and not the good kind of mussed; the skin surrounding my eyes was swollen and my cheeks seemed sucked in. The crack in the mirror produced the illusion that my throat had been slit.

All of a sudden, I saw a figure standing behind me in the reflection of the mirror.

The figure looked awfully like Ivy.

Carefully, I turned on my heel to face her, but when I looked back, she was gone. It was like she had dissipated into thin air. I frowned before realizing something. Perhaps I was dreaming again... Wasn't there a verity about people not being able to read in dreams?

No wonder I wasn't able to read!

I slapped myself across the face with as much energy as my bony hands could conjure. "Wake up!" I exclaimed. "Wake up!"

Nothing changed, I still stood alone in the room in front of the cracked mirror.

"Wake UP!" I cried again, my voice sounding almost desperate.

I felt hot tears prick my eyelids as I ran back out into the living room and picked up the book I had slammed against the wall. I flipped through the pages and - I still couldn't read.

"What the hell is happening to me?" I shouted at nobody in particular.

I slammed the book against my head, which throbbed in painful response.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

xxxxx

My eyes flew open and I was somewhere else.

Jazz music seemed to be gently playing in the background, but I wasn't sure where it was coming from. I stood in an empty corridor again, this time however, I was not alone.

Sydney was with me and we were swaying to the soft music.

My hand rested on her hip, her arms were wrapped around my neck. She looked magnificent in a figure hugging red evening gown, her lipstick and heels were red to match. She smiled at me as we danced and I felt a sense of contentment at the feel of her skin against my own.

The nightmare was over. This was reality.

My reality.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she leaned in to kiss me. The kiss sent little tremors all over my body, my breath hitched and my stomach dropped. Her breath smelt like roses and blood. It was a strange scent. It wasn't Sydney's scent...

"Hey, Adrian," she purred.

"Yes?" I managed, tilting my head slightly away from her, a little perplexed now.

"Did it hurt?"

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

I followed her gaze; which had dropped down. I gasped, instantly taking a few steps away from her. There was a gaping hole in my stomach, and I was bleeding all over. I felt the red liquid stick against my shirt as it soaked it red. I screamed again, and when I looked back up, she was coming for me. Not Sydney - no, it was _her._

Ivy's stone cold eyes sparkled with glee; like my misery amused her.

She began to inch closer towards me, blood now dripping down the side of her jaw.

"You will be all mine soon," she promised.

"No!" My voice was so loud that I thought my vocal chords had been permanently destroyed.

"Don't!" I shrieked. "Don't!"

xxxxx

"Adrian! Oh, my gosh," her soft voice pulled me out of my funk.

I lurched into a seating position in bed, my entire body shaking. I felt beads of sweat lining my forehead as I let my eyes adjust to the imminent darkness. Instantly, Sydney switched on the table lamp and wrapped her arms around me.

I held onto her for dear life.

She ruffled my hair, running her left hand through it while her right hand ran soothing circles up and down my back. She whispered gentle, calming words into my ears, rocking me back and forth. I sat there for god knows how long - but it felt like hours, simply in a state of shock, holding on to Sydney till the darkness dispersed.

xxxxx

"... He's lost his mind," Sydney was pacing back and forth. She was on the phone with Mrs. T and I was eavesdropping.

"He won't eat, he won't even speak to me. He couldn't sleep all night, Mrs. Terwilliger. I - I've never seem him so... vulnerable. I'm worried, something's wrong... something's so wrong. We have to help him! Do some research, get the gang on the case, find everything you can on this hell witch. I want her dead." The vehemence in Sydney's voice took me aback a little.

She sounded like she was seeing red; like she wanted Ivy's blood. True, Ivy wasn't exactly citizen of the year, but what was I turning her into? Sydney Sage was not a bloodthirsty person. Hell, she had sympathy for a freaking Strigoi, that was the Sydney I loved. I wouldn't let her turn into a person she couldn't even recognize.

I had spent all night giving Sydney a hard time, and I hadn't meant to, god, I hadn't meant to. I didn't want to cause her stress, the last thing I had wanted was to become a liability - a charity case. I was the one who was supposed to be protecting her, shielding her from the evils in this world... Not the other way around!

Seeing her like this... so disturbed and helpless because of me? It made me furious.

"I... I understand. Just - Please? Okay? No... I can't leave him," she went on. I watched carefully from behind the door left ajar. "It doesn't matter right now!" Her voice was loud, I think she realized it too, and brought her tone back to a level inflection. "The strigoi told me he was dying..." she sounded so afraid, then she went silent for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, I know that you're right somewhere down the line it's just... It breaks my heart, Mrs. T - and I can't do it anymore. She's hurting him! Lissa Dragomir is already missing, who knows what will happen to Adrian. I can't let him out of my sight. In fact..." Sydney rubbed her temples with her forefinger. "I should be going to check on him right now. Update me? I will be there as soon as he shows some signs of recovery. Thank you." she cut the call and began to dart over to my bedroom.

Instantly, I flopped back onto the bed.

"So, Miss Sage," I began. "Tell us how it feels like to be handed the productive task of playing nurse to Adrian Ivashkov?"

Sydney's eyes scanned my own as she shut the door behind her, she looked positively relieved. She jogged over to me and touched my forehead. "You're being sarcastic," she stated. "Signs of a speedy recovery."

She sat down on the bed facing me and began to dip a ragged cloth in a bowl of lukewarm water. "Lay back," she adjured, "You have to rest."

I shook my head no, swatting her hand away as she raised it to my forehead. Hurt flashed in her amber eyes, "What are you doing?"

"I can't have this. I don't want to hold you back, Sage. You have a crisis on your hands, I should be there by your side every step of the way, helping you. Instead here I am, bed ridden and unable to harm a fly. But if I can't aid you, I shouldn't keep you away from what's really important - You don't have to babysit me."

Sydney fixed me with an incredulous look. "Did you really think that painfully modest speech was going to work on me?"

"No," I admitted. "Hence, I commence Plan B."

Sydney didn't even get the time to blink as I whipped out a handkerchief drenched in chloroform and slammed it against her nose and mouth. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her limbs went limp; senseless as she fell onto her back; her flaxen hair sprawled out around her; framing her face.

I had high concentrations of the stuff laying around since Sydney herself had bought it for medical purposes, I hadn't meant to use it to on her, but it was the only way I would be able to get her to comply - by force. It was a horrible thing to do, and I was well aware that Sydney was going to hate me for doing this. There was a chance I had ruined our relationship forever... The world, however, mattered more at this point than our relationship. I had made a deal with Jackie when Sydney was out preparing breakfast for me; Jackie was the one who suggested the fabrication; but I was the one who orchestrated it. I knew I was to blame, but I had to believe I was doing what I was doing for a good cause.

So I stood up, got ready and tucked Sydney into bed, the effects would last for over two to three hours at the least, so I had plenty of time on my hands. Jackie had offered to come over, since she didn't want me to expose myself to too much 'physical exertion' in such a 'sensitive' state, she wanted me to try and track down Liss using my traditional method: dream walking. It wasn't going to be easy, I knew this because I had wanted to try this ever since I had heard the news but to no avail, not to mention that for all of psychotic Ivy's faults; she was probably smart enough to keep Lissa awake. If she really was this powerful sorceress, she would know that spirit's fortes included visiting people in their dreams. Still, it was a tool we could use and something we couldn't rule out just yet, at least not until we'd given it a good try.

Jackie rang the bell about ten minutes later; right on cue.

I swung open the door, stepping aside so that she could freely walk in. Jackie's eyes skirted me from top to bottom, and I dug my hands into my pockets - avoiding her gaze.

"I feel positively awful doing this without Miss Melrose's consent," She muttered, taking a seat atop my couch and pulling out a tiny transparent vial from her purse. "Hey - Don't make it sound like it was all my idea. I thought we decided to split the blame evenly." I admonished. Jackie polished her glasses once more, she seemed to have fixed them or gotten a new pair - since they weren't broken anymore. "Well, yes," she stated.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Right," I said, sauntering over to the couch and seating myself besides her. "Time's of the essence, then. Let's get this over with."

I raked a hand through my hair and frowned at Jackie, who was busy shaking the vial rather vigorously. "I'm guessing that's not fairy dust?" I arched an eyebrow.

Jackie shot me a quick glance before cocking open the vial and thrusting it in my hands. "It is a special concoction that I brewed for you. It should make it easier to connect; it works a bit as a catalyst, you see. The sooner you get in and get out the better, considering spirit has not been doing you any favors lately." I could practically feel my face darken as I nodded, staring at the sickly green contents of the vial.

"I'll drink to that," I muttered, raising the foul smelling liquid to my mouth. "Cheers."

I gulped it down as quickly as I could, trying not to breathe through my nose while at it to evade most of the sour taste. Jackie pushed me back so that my head now rested on the headrest behind me and then had me sprawl both my arms out on my sides. She touched my forehead with her palm and whispered, "Now, focus. Stay calm. You can do this."

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on my breathing. Even though the receiving party had to be asleep when it came to dream walking, I usually just slipped into a meditational state, which was what I was striving to achieve now. A few seconds later I felt the world slip away and I was brought back into subconscious territory. I knew how dangerous this was going to be, especially considering I'd spent a fair share of the day receiving dreams that weren't so much dreams and nightmares that didn't take place at night. Then again, it wasn't like we had a lot of options.

I wasn't sure whether or not Liss was asleep; but I could feel the spirit working it's mojo - so I assumed the best.

At first, everything was extremely hazy and unfocused. The only thing I could make out was a myriad of incoherent lines and shapes. Slowly, the shapes began to blur into one another and take a solid form, I looked down to find warm green grass under the soles of my shoes. It was a bright sunny day surrounding me, the sun stood high and proud in the middle of the cloudless sky, I could hear the faint melody of birds chirping in the distance. The field around me was lush with vegetation and ovegrown with families of sweet smelling wild flowers. There was a gentle wind passing through that kept the temperatures from rising too high. Mostly, I was the one who chose the location of rendevous when I roved through dreams; sometimes, in fact - once in a blue moon, the dreamer would be able to control things. It was only when they had an extremely strong willpower though, and I had never seen it happen before. I looked over at a big tree in front of me, it seemed to be the only tree in the field. I took a few cautious steps towards it, realizing that there was something underneath it.

It was a steel cage that looked both sturdy and large enough to contain a fully grown adult. It was a strange juxtaposition to the surreal evergreen encompassing it. When I took a closer look, I found her inside it. Lissa Dragomir.

"Cousin..." my voice faded out into the wind, it sounded like merely a whisper; though I was almost positive I spoke loudly enough for her to grasp my words clearly. She still looked beautiful; radiant even. Her long platinum blonde hair were tied back into a neat braid, her lips were pink and her eyes shone their usual jade-green. She wore a lengthy red gown; something royal enough for a queen to wear, even though it looked absolutely spectacular on her - highlighting every curve in the right place, I had a feeling it was suffocating her.

The sad, almost wistful look on her face confirmed my theory.

"They miss you back at Court." I expressed. She looked up at me, her eyes seemed to change colour in the surreal sunlight.

"They will miss you, too." She replied dryly.

I bit my lip. What the _hell_ was she talking about?

"Adrian," her voice was tinged with pain now.

"Have I ever told you the Tale of the Two Doves?"

I frowned and nodded no, silently hoping that Ivy hadn't sucked Lissa's brain out.

"No, Liss -"

"Shh!" She cut me off, bringing her hands together in a loud clap to keep me from speaking.

"Listen," she started.

"Once there were two doves, one was white and the other was black. The black dove had always been jealous of the white dove, because it had everything the black dove had ever wanted. So one day, when the white dove was on it's way home - the black dove ambushed it. Things did not end well for either bird, as they both ended up wounded and anguished. Finally, the white dove confronted the black dove, and when the black dove confessed the truth; the white dove flew away, sparing the black dove its life. The black dove was ever grateful. Years later, the black dove met the white dove one last time, and asked it why it had spared its life all those days ago. The white dove simply said "Black is not a flattering color on me""

It was all greek to me. I had been trying to understand what she was saying, but it was all simply coming across as gibberish. "This isn't the time for riddles, Liss."

She sighed, looking dissapointed at my response.

A pang erupted inside my chest, Sydney would know what the story meant. Sydney knew everything.

Suddenly Lissa stood up, her eyes blinking repeatedly like she had been jarred awake from a deep sleep. She twirled around in her steel cage, "Do you like my new dress?"

I took a few more steps towards her - and that was when I realized that her 'red' dress was too deep of a red. Blood red. I gasped, retracting immediately. She was wearing a dress stained with blood, the thing looked like it was practically weaved from it.

Her shoulders slumped, "Me neither."

"Oh, Liss," something born from a rare liason of determination and adrenaline induced me to go back to her; I wrapped my fingers around the cold steel cage and shook it with all the strength my dream self could conjure. It did not budge. It simply creaked in protest.

I slammed my fist against it. "I have to get you out of there! Tell me where you are!"

Lissa's empty jade green eyes met mine. "Think outside of the box."

Before I could ponder over that ridiculously cryptic response, everything around me began to melt into one another again, shapes and outlines turning hazy once more. My hand reached out for Lissa's, and when I blinked - simply for a millisecond there; I thought I saw a bullet wound through her chest. It could have just been my mind playing tricks on me however, it wouldn't be the first time. Whatever it was, it was gone and I broke out of it with a gasp.

Reality seemed more like a mirage than the dream itself.

When my head stopped throbbing and my eyes focused, I found an anxious Jackie peering up my nose. I frowned, shifting uncomfortably. Her head jerked back and she eyed me curiously, "Did you make contact?"

I gulped. "Yes."

"Smooth sailing, I hope." She reckoned.

"Never a dull moment." I confirmed.

Jackie made it sound like a voyage; which was far from what dream walking truly was. It felt more like a submarine ride, like I was penetrating deeper and deeper into the depths of one's subconscious to spark contact. This one felt slightly different, however. Usually, I was the one steering; this time it felt like _she_ was steering _me_ once I'd gotten into it.

My head still felt heavy and I leaned against the couch awkwardly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jackie was staring at me; her eyes wide as windows, her jaw wobbling slightly like she was holding it back from dropping to the floor. She looked absolutely spooked. I itched the back of my neck and peered at her once more; the expression hadn't even wavered.

"Jackie?"

She snapped herself out of it. "Mr. Ivashkov... I don't know how to put this in a way that does not sound alarming but... You have been out cold for over an hour now."

I gasped, feeling my heart rate simultaneously surging as I took in her words. I looked around me, Jackie was now sipping some coffee and it seemed as though this wasn't her first one from the table that was littered with Styrofoam cups. I tilted my head to get a look outside the window, it was still afternoon and sunlight was struggling to seep in through the binds on the window. My eyes then swiveled to the clock besides the window; it was almost three pm. I was positive it had been quarter to two when I had started this.

Chills ran up and down my spine as I tried to clear my head that was now being bombarded with a million irrational thoughts. "How... How is that possible?"

She... She was the witch. She should have had an explaination for this!

"How long was it... For you?" She asked. It took me a few seconds to register her words, and my brain struggled to form sentences. "Two minutes? Five? Couldn't have been more than that." I confirmed.

Jackie bit her lip and I looked up at her, trying to ignore the stinging feeling that seemed to be creeping up the back of my eyelids. "It's _me_, isn't it? Something's... Something's been happening to me ever since that accident. Did Sydney tell you?"

Jackie nodded gravely, "Not in picturesque detail, I am afraid - however I must admit even I am left utterly perplexed by this turn in events. I do wonder if it is because of my recent coaxing that got you into using much more spirit than required."

"It's not your fault, Jackie," I stated. "You're just trying to save the world."

She chuckled, "Aren't we all?"

Jackie sighed, standing up and rubbing her glasses. "I shall brew up another concoction for you, something to help abate the bad dreams until we figure out just what it is. Till then, I advise you to stay off spirit completely."

I frowned, brushing my jeans and standing up too, so that I could face her. "What about our experiments?"

"We can put them on hold."

"No! I mean - I can't just go cold turkey on spirit. We need it right now, I can handle a few nightmares." I argued, but Jackie seemed unconvinced.

"That is the thing, Mr. Ivashkov," she said, "I do not believe that they _are_ nightmares."

My jaw dropped, "What are they, then? Bad dreams, right?"

She shook her head, her eyes glinting dangerously with something like apprehension. "They are something much worse."

xxxxx

Sydney wasn't one to hold grudges.

She had told me that herself, a long time ago. Today, I felt like I had tested that theory by pushing her to her limits - and now she looked like the most vengeful person on the planet.

A little while after Jackie had left, Sydney awoke and she was not happy.

"You look so peaceful when you sleep," I muttered soothingly as she threw a pillow at me. "You should always be like that." I went on, dodging her blow.

"Ugh!" She exclaimed, shooting off the bed and punching me repeatedly on the arm, it didn't hurt as much as it annoyed me. "Calm down, Sage. Now I know you're angry -"

"Angry?" She raised both her eyebrows in mock astonishment. "_Angry_?" She punched me again.

"Try furious!"

_Smack.  
_  
"Try enraged!"

Punch.

"Try I'm going to _kill_ you, Adrian Ivashkov!"

I grabbed her wrists and held them tightly in place. She struggled to get out of my grip but she was weakened by the anesthetic and I was stronger. She blew an awry blonde strand away from her eyes and glared at me with a vehemence I hadn't seen in her before. If looks could kill I would have been dead within seconds. Her eyes were bleary; like molten gold and her pouty lips were curved in a glower. She groaned, somehow gathering the strength to slam her tiny fists against my chest, even with my fingers still tightly secured around her wrists in a death grip.

"What on earth is wrong with you?" Her voice now sounded less irked and more upset, it cracked in places and the pain in her voice automatically inclined my grip on her to loosen. She took this as an opportunity to yank herself out of it completely.

"I was trying to help you, because I'm the idiot whose in love with you," she started, and I felt my heart sink as I watched her knees buckle. She slumped to the floor.

My eyes widened and I crouched down so that I was eye-level with her. "I'm sorry," I muttered - aware of how ridiculous and unapologetic I actually sounded.

She shook her head, tears beginning to form in her eyes and getting caught in her eyelids as they fell down across her cheek. A sickening pang of guilt erupted inside of my chest and I felt my stomach drop. She was right. I shouldn't have deceived her like that, it had been wrong and stupid. Especially after the way that she had taken care of me these past few days.

"What did you do, huh?" She asked between tears as she leaned against the back of her bed. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to keep my fingers from brushing her tears away. I wanted to brush her pain away, too - which was something that I was not capable of at the moment.

I stared at my shoes as I spoke, "Jackie came over and I looked for Liss in a dream. We did it without you because we knew you wouldn't approve."

She nodded her head, looking absolutely disgusted. More guilt. I wanted to slam my fists against the wall in anguish. I didn't.

"I know that what I did was wrong -"

She cut me off. "Yes, it was wrong. It was very, very wrong. I have done whatever I did because I care about you, and because you are not the Know-It-All you pretend to be around everyone else. Spirit is affecting your mental health and it can only get worse on from here, had you let me help you, perhaps the outcome would have been different. _Better._"

"I -"

"It's not even about that. You drugged me, Adrian. You... You betrayed my trust. After all I... after everything... And it _hurts_."

Her voice was so broken, so repulsed that I felt like pulling my ears off so that I couldn't hear her anymore.

When I looked back up at her, she had her head buried in her lap and she was crying, I noticed her hands were shaking and instantly steadied them with my own.

"I won't lose you... I keep telling myself I won't..."

"You will not, Sydney. I promise."

"No," she shook her head. "Because I feel like I already have."

When she looked up at me again, she was already drying away stray tears. Sydney was one of the strongest people I had ever met, so when ever she broke down, I felt this sense of dread. Now, along with the sense of dread, I felt like my own heart was crumbling. Like I was the one who had been betrayed, like a part of me was shattered and there was no way to minimize the damage. The look of betrayal in her eyes seemed to burn through my insides.

She was quiet for the next minute or so, and none of us spoke a word. All that could be heard was the sound of distant traffic outside the open window pane, the slow whistling of the wind, and our shaky breathing.

After which, Sydney did something surprising.

She took my hand in hers and placed it upon her chest, right above her heart. I could feel it's steady beating against my palm. I felt my cheeks warm and my skin tingle with enticement.

"What you did today was unnecessary," she started.

"And your dreams? They are _not _real."

I nodded as her grip on my palm tightened against her chest. I could feel my own chest rising and falling rather rapidly, and my own heartbeat speeding up to the point that I was afraid she would hear it.

"This," she peered down at where my hand was still placed on her heart. "_Is_ real."

She let go of my hand and I withdrew, still utterly taken aback.

"I am _real_. And I... I love you. Remember that the next time you decide to lie to me."


End file.
